Broken Pipe Floods Areas of Hospital
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Water flooded surgery and radiology areas at Northridge Hospital Medical Center on Thursday when a pipe broke.
Workers discovered water in a second-floor surgical area and the first-floor radiology room beneath it about 4 a.m., said hospital spokesman Barry Ginsbarg.
“The surgery area was temporarily out of commission, though at the time it was not being used,” Ginsbarg said. “It could have been much worse.”
To stop the leak, Los Angeles firefighters helped workers shut off the hot water in a high-pressure line about 6 a.m., Ginsbarg said. Workers quickly cleaned up the water and no surgeries were interrupted, he said.
The broken wall pipe connects to a machine that washes surgical instruments, Ginsbarg said. The surgery area is used only for trauma patients in the middle of the night, and Ginsbarg did not know if any critical patients had to be diverted to other hospitals.
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