LAKEWOOD— A fire started by a patient at Western State Hospital around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30 caused the evacuation of three civil wards for several hours.
The fire was contained to the patient’s room in which it was started thanks to the quick action of Western State Hospital staff and the Lakewood Fire Department.
The patient who started the fire was arrested by Lakewood police, charged with second-degree arson and was taken to jail.
All patients who were temporarily moved during the fire clean-up were able to return to their regular living quarters by early morning Thursday, Dec. 1 after emergency responders gave the all-clear.
“I want to thank the patients and staff for their calm and cooperation throughout the night,” said Cheryl Strange, the hospital’s Chief Executive Officer. “Incidents like this can be extremely upsetting and traumatic to the patients as well as our staff, even if they were not directly impacted.”
The hospital set up its command center to handle the situation and ensure the patient transfers were made with minimal disruption.
“The command center protocol that we now have in place has greatly improved our timely and effective response to incidents, which improves the safety and security of all who live and work at the hospital,” Strange said.