Exclusive first tour of Brockton Hospital since devastating fire — What we saw and learned

BROCKTON — On any given day, 75 electricians are at work inside Brockton Hospital, rewiring the entire 250,000-square-foot facility. And once more parts arrive, Facilities Director Brian Backoff plans to put even more electricians to work.

Backoff was in his office, just above the electrical room, when the fire broke out the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 7.

"The noise was like a freight train," Backoff said.

The outside of Brockton Hospital looks largely the same. But an exclusive first look inside the hospital shows major repairs and upgrades underway. Hospital owners Signature Healthcare invited an Enterprise photographer and reporter into the shuttered facility on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023.

Here's what we saw and learned.

Cause of fire still unknown

Despite multiple investigations, Backoff said the exact cause of the accidental fire remains a mystery. One thing investigators have learned, Backoff said, was that it was not a transformer fire as widely reported. Signature Healthcare CEO and President Robert Haffey said the uncertainty has not caused delays with insurance payments.

The 10-alarm fire started in the main electrical room on the backside of the hospital. After the fire, smoke had blackened the entire room. On Wednesday the room stood stark white from new paint and sealing.

The fire fried two of the hospital's three main electrical systems. In a measure to limit damage should a similar fire take place, the hospital will move its main electrical equipment to a new area outside the envelope of the hospital. For now, electrical panels dot the room where the fire began.

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New emergency department

It may be hard to see anything positive about the closing of a major metropolitan safety-net hospital. But there are silver linings. Among them is that hospital authorities have been able to do upgrades earlier and at lower cost than originally planned.

Exhibit A is the renovated emergency department. Instead of having to go two rooms at a time renovating a busy ER, Backoff's crews get to work at any hour they want.

Anyone who has gone to the Brockton Hospital ER in recent years knows they'll often face long wait times. Several upgrades should help decrease those. For one, the renovated ER will have 42 rooms as opposed to the 37 rooms before the fire. The new nurses' station is already built. Walls are up with fresh coats of paint.

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Patients in a behavioral health crisis tend to have the longest waits, sometimes more than a day. All over the state it's common for these patients to be waiting on gurneys in the hallways. Brockton Hospital's renovated behavioral health section will have 12 private rooms. Before the fire there were just four of those. In this area, the nurses station will have visibility into every room via glass windows. The behavioral health area was in the rough framing stage during the Enterprise's visit.

Hospital officials say another element should help decrease wait times. Shortly after the fire, Signature opened two "urgent care" centers. The plan is to keep those open. Between 30 and 40% of emergency room visits could be handled at urgent care, Haffey said.

New ambulatory surgery center

The old radiation therapy area of the hospital is in the middle of becoming a new ambulatory surgery center. It will serve patients whose procedures don't require an overnight stay, like cataract surgery. This part of the building is close to the epicenter of the fire. Behind the walls crews found significant damage.

Today the walls and ceilings are open. Crews have the added challenge of needing to work around thick concrete walls that once served as a radiation barrier.

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New solar carports

Most of the work underway at Brockton Hospital isn't visible for folks walking or driving past. Not so for the four parking lots sporting new solar panels. The Siemens panels will allow the hospital to store the sun's power. They'll also give future visitors shelter from sun, rain and snow.

The hospital took advantage of the closure to repave the parking lots, too, something that had long been on the wish list.

Employee return update

While the focus of activity now is the physical rebuilding of Brockton Hospital, what makes it run are its employees. Hospital administrators hope many of the nurses and other health care pros who pulled off the epic evacuation of 172 patients without injuries will return.

After the fire, the hospital placed about 400 workers into roles at 13 health care facilities in the region, according to Kim Walsh, chief nursing officer and senior vice president of patient care. These employees are considered "deployed" and have been getting their paychecks from Signature. As the various parts of the hospital come back on line, workers will have a chance to return by seniority, she said.

Other employees took a layoff and could return to the hospital when the time comes.

"We're hearing that people can't wait to get back," Walsh said.

CEO says hospital will reopen

Asked if there are any myths circulating about the fire and recovery, Signature CEO Haffey said some people believe Brockton Hospital won't reopen.

"That's absolutely not true," he said.

As evidence, Haffey said the hospital is making use of its "business interruption insurance" and expects further money to be available soon from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and its Massachusetts counterpart.

Meanwhile, the long process of recovery and reopening continues. The hospital expects Department of Public Health inspectors on Wednesday, Aug. 9 to sign off on reopening two small but symbolic services inside the hospital itself: wound care and infusion therapy.

If things go to plan, these will be the first patient services offered inside Brockton Hospital since the fire.

Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on Twitter at @HelmsNews.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton Hospital tour as it rebuilds in wake of electrical fire