Volunteers evacuate patients after small electrical fire at field hospital

By Jennifer Browning

A small electrical fire broke out last night in the pediatric tent after the Project Medishare field hospital had been pounded by a massive lightning storm throughout the day.

Although shaken, all of the volunteers and patients are safe.

Volunteer surgeon Dr. Harvey Austin said around 1 a.m. volunteers awoke to an alert that there was a fire in the pediatric ward and patients needed to be evacuated. Volunteers worked throughout the night safely moving patients through the mud. Dr. Austin said within less than two hours a triage unit was set up in the parking lot, so the evacuated patients could continue receiving care.

Dr. Austin said it was amazing how all of the volunteers, worked smoothly through the situation. Many of them, like Dr. Austin, had just begun their deployment after arriving late Saturday night.

“It was one of the most magnificent things I have ever seen,” Dr. Austin said. “Every person here selected themselves to dance with the chaos of it all. Everyone came through the whole thing.”

It is suspected that lightening hit a power box and caused an electrical fire in the pediatric tent which spread to the adult ward tent next door.

According to Dr. Austin, patients have been moved back into the pediatric and adult tents, and the hospital has been reconfigured. Volunteer pharmacist PJ Pitts said the local team is currently working to fix the wiring in the pediatric tent and the OR.

Chief Operations Officer Thomas Koulouris has control of the situation and is working with University of Miami’s Ron Bogue and Project Medishare’s local support team to create a plan.

“Although a major tragedy was averted,” Project Medishare President Dr. Barth Green said, “the harsh realities of our mission to serve were brought up a notch today.”

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Repetitive rains forecast a glimpse for the rainy season to come

Medical volunteers work among a soggy field hospital in Port-au-Prince. As the rainy season approaches, Project Medishare is looking to move to a permanent facility. Photo by Jennifer Browning. (File photo taken March 20, 2010)

By Jennifer Browning

While the rainy season doesn’t officially start for another two and half weeks, Project Medishare’s medical volunteers and logistics team are already getting a good taste of what is to come.

It has rained every night since Friday night for at least an hour or more. Last evening, Port-au-Prince received four hours of rain.

In order to protect the tents, the logistics team on the ground have arranged for trenches to be dug around the camp in an effort to keep as much water as possible out of the tents.

Medical volunteers are encouraged to come prepared with plenty of clean, dry socks, ponchos, and boots.

Project Medishare has been searching for an existing building to move to within the city of Port-au-Prince, in order to have better protection from the impending rainy season and to continue the care we are providing to the people in a safe environment. A location has not been determined so far, but we hope to move our hospital in the coming weeks.

As Project Medishare provides ongoing relief efforts in Port-au-Prince and the Central Plateau, we will continue to need support. If you have already made a donation, we thank you, but if you can make an additional contribution today, please do so by clicking here.

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