Power fully restored to Tacoma General, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital

Main power was fully restored to MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital and Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, a spokesperson said early Monday morning.

Both hospitals expected to be back to normal operations Monday.

“MultiCare extends our thanks to Tacoma Public Utilities and our support vendor, CBS Field Service, for their partnership with our facilities team in making repairs and restoring power,” said MultiCare spokesperson Scott Thompson. “We greatly appreciate the collaboration with health systems throughout the region for their support. We recognize the dedication and excellence of all our physicians, nurses, and support staff during the last few days. Their work enabled us to safely care for our patients during challenging circumstances,” Thompson said.

MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital and Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma had been relying on generator power since Wednesday due to a water-cooling system leak that shorted out an electrical switch. This incident caused significant operational challenges for both hospitals.

VIDEO: Multiple smash-and-grab burglaries at Seattle pot shops

Hospital transition to power failed

At approximately 7:15 p.m. Thursday, the hospitals successfully transitioned back to normal power. However, this relief was short-lived. About an hour later, a main switch in an electrical vault failed and subsequently caught fire. The fire was swiftly contained within the vault, preventing it from spreading further. Despite the presence of smoke from the fire, no staff members or patients were injured, ensuring the safety of everyone within the hospital premises.

The issue did not involve a generator malfunction, and there was no need for sheltering in place at the hospital due to this incident.

More from MyNorthwest: Pacific Northwest Storm Watch: Flooding, power outages, and a midweek warm-up