Fire in Paradise

On the morning of November 8, fire swept through the town of Paradise, California. Many in our community have family and friends in that town who lost all that they had. Our sister hospital, Adventist Health Feather River, had to be quickly evacuated. With a very short window of time, the staff was able to get all patients and staff to safety. It wasn’t easy. The following excerpt (a bit long, but it captures what took place) is from Renee Souza, a nurse manager on duty that morning. This is from Renee’s Facebook page, and is not edited. The writing captures the exhaustion and raw emotion felt by the staff.

“I started yesterday morning as I start many mornings as a charge nurse on the surgical unit at feather river hospital. I made patient assignments at 0630 am apologized to my floating icu nurses for having to care for five patients and told my staff it was going to be a great day because it was my Friday . 0715 I said goodnight to the last night shift nurse as she headed out. I was informed there was a fire near the hospital by one of my LVN nursing instructors just minutes later . Seconds later I instructed Cathy unit secretary to begin pulling up information on the fire - there was no information . I phoned to the house supervisor who was preparing a meeting for hospital physicians as she was just being informed. I informed my staff to get discharging patients ready to leave . Evacuation code was called over head just minutes later. Seconds later myself, nursing staff, students and doctors on the unit loaded patients into wheelchairs, patients into rolling chairs grabbed them in the very beds they laid in and evacuated our unit in what seemed like a blink of an eye (record timing). As I grabbed the last patient and headed to the ER ambulance bay I glanced out of the back door of surgical to see flames headed for us. I sprinted, dropped the patient off in the ambulance bay and headed back for my unit. My manager was there taping off doors as cleared. I checked the last room once more to ensure all was cleared as I did this I saw a patient standing confused in the parking lot flames headed for us. I sprinted to him my car was near him but just feet within 25 foot flames. I started my car grabbed the gentleman loaded him in my car and threw his wheelchair. I headed for the ER bay as no ambulances had arrived yet. Nurses , physician and staff loaded patients in there own vehicles and we began to leave . As I was headed out from the hospital I felt tremendous gilt that I couldn’t save more. I headed west to the only blue sky around. I frantically called my family to get information on roads open. Skyway was our only exit . Spot fires began throughout the town as we tried to get to skyway. What seemed like road after road was engulfed with flames . We continued to the skyway taking back roads I’d never been on and dodging through parking lots. I phoned nurses that lived in Chico and asked for them to head to Enloe to help receive our patients. After two hours of what is less than a 30 minute drive we arrived at Enloe. The triage began. I had wrote down every patients first and last name from my unit and the room for which they where assigned one by one we received patients. I vowed to stay until I heard the last one was safe. My nurses and CNA’s, did they make it ? I had no knowledge of where they all ended up. For hours we couldn’t reach our staff but had word they where trapped in the basement of our hospital. My people trapped, 60 people on the helipad with word that the fire had taken part of the hospital. They couldn’t leave they had no exit . I couldn’t think of it we FRH family prayed hard and we continued to work . I checked time and time again with the Enloe command center and Oroville command center cross referenced and checking for everyone of my patients. 650 pm I laid eyes on the last of my coworkers who where trapped who hadn’t been able to escape they had just barely survived covered in ashes but alive.”

As I read Renee’s story, my heart breaks for what the team in Paradise went through that day, and are still going through. I’m reminded that the team working there were heroes to their patients and families, and to each other. I’m also reminded that our team here at KHN is also made up of everyday heroes. While I pray we never find ourselves in a situation like we just read about, our people make a difference in lives every day. Take a moment with your team during this holiday season to thank them for answering the Call to Care each moment, for the difference they make in the lives of those we serve.