Campfires usually conjure up images of roasted dinners, toasted s'mores and telling stories in the moonlight. Yet for one Northern California town, a certain summer blaze—ironically named the Camp Fire—destroyed homes, charred trees and shut down the only local hospital for 10 days.
The fire, which torched 53,000 acres of Butte County in July, enveloped the town of Paradise in a thick blanket of smoke, ash and debris, and forced Feather River Hospital to evacuate and close. With flames approaching their door, the team at FRH, accustomed to being a haven during emergencies, faced the reality that their hospital might soon be reduced to ashes.
But the Lord had different plans. With thousands of people praying, it seemed the hands of God (and hundreds of firefighters) were protecting FRH. Though the fire seemed poised to snake up the canyon wall toward the hospital—something fire officials deemed inevitable—the fire miraculously stayed put; the structure un-singed. Afterward, the very surprised fire captain stated he would have bet a month's wage on the fire heading toward the hospital. (Indeed, it came within 400 yards!) When someone told him that FRH is an Adventist hospital with many people praying, he said, "There may be something to that."
Along with powerful prayers, 10 firefighter strike teams with 50 fire engines stayed primed to defend the hospital. As they got the inferno under control, FRH eventually received word to re-open.
The all clear didn't mean the hospital could just fling open its doors and start treating patients however. They first had to sterilize the 80,000-square-foot hospital from top to bottom and get every piece of medical equipment recalibrated and recertified. More than 100 people worked long hours cleaning floors, carpets, walls, ceilings and furniture; washing all linens; replacing approximately 1,000 air filters; inspecting and recertifying hundreds of medical devices; and testing all fire alarms, smoke alarms, nurse call systems, emergency generators, medical gases and numerous other items.
Additionally, the hospital had to dispose of nearly $600,000 worth of pharmaceuticals because they could not guarantee the hospital remained cool enough to store those medicines appropriately during the crisis.
"We used extensive checklists to make sure we looked at everything affecting our patients, staff and community," said Wayne Ferch, FRH president and CEO. "Nothing is more important to us than providing the highest quality of care for our community."
The hospital worked closely with Enloe Medical Center and Oroville Hospital during the evacuation and closure to ensure that patients were transferred safely and that the community had emergency coverage. "We are deeply grateful for their support and help," Ferch said.
After that work was through—and thanks to volunteers from throughout Adventist Health—four surveyors from California Department of Public Health and two from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development cleared the facility after inspecting it for more than four hours.
"It was a long 10 days," said Ferch, who along with several employees worked round-the-clock in the Incident Command Center during the closure. "We're thrilled to be open and back at work caring for our patients."
FRH started the first day back with a short ceremony where Chaplain LaFreeda Thomas blessed the hands of the staff. Ferch made remarks, as did Congressman Wally Herger. Other dignitaries included representatives of Assemblyman Rick Keene and Senator Samuel Aanestad.
"We're very proud of the team at FRH," said Larry Dodds, executive vice president of Adventist Health and board chair of the facility. "They worked diligently and made critical decisions during this crisis. We are so thankful that the Lord continues to bless this facility and its mission in Paradise and the surrounding communities."
To learn more about Feather River Hospital or to view more photos of the fire and evacuation, please visit www.frhosp.org.
Side bar
While many have no doubt that prayer saved the hospital, many remarkable employees worked countless hours during the crisis. Here are some of their stories:
[Photo of Incident Command Center]
Loretta DePorceri, Financial Services, observed the leadership of FRH. She said, "If we admired FRH Senior Management for their dedication before, I am double-struck with awe during the recent fire event. To have witnessed this group making decisions that affected all of the community under the most stressful conditions [was remarkable]. Their ability to handle the thousand tasks thrown at them with rapid fire in the Incident Command Center, with only a few hours of sleep, for so many days, was amazing."
[Photo of Firefighter Cakes]
Erik Mirabal, Nutritional Services, recognized Chef Ira Poritzky, who remained on site to feed firefighters and staff. "From Tuesday till Friday of the evacuation, Chef Ira was in the kitchen calling staff, cleaning, cooking and taking care of the fire fighters and staff still remaining in the hospital. He would arrive at five in the morning and wouldn't leave until five in the afternoon, running around in the kitchen with more on his plate than he could even fathom. I would like to thank him for all his hard work."
[Photo of Health Center]
Heather Marquette, RN, Feather River Health Center, lauded FRH volunteer Glenn Brown for his dedicated service to the Feather River Health Center, which continued to serve patients while the hospital was closed. She said, "When Glenn heard that the Health Center would be open 24 hours a day, he came in and offered his services. He said that he just figured we would need help and was willing to do anything. He was (and still is) invaluable! He sat in our lobby and passed out masks to everyone and directed patients and guests to the right place in the clinic. He worked all that weekend and we greatly appreciate him thinking of us on his own."
Suzanne Lerner, Home Health, talked about her incredible coworkers in home health. "During the recent disaster, everyone pulled together and went above and beyond to provide the care needed for our patients. Everyone worked tirelessly. Even though we all worked under strained conditions, staff members were going out in terrible smoky air—some worried about their own homes and families—a feeling of camaraderie and mission prevailed and we got through it."
