Steam Line Break Prompts Evacuation At OU Medical Center

A steam pipe burst in the basement of a metro health center Saturday morning, prompting a 2-alarm evacuation.

Officials with OU Health confirmed to News 9 that nearly 75 patients were moved to safety from the east side of the south tower of the OU Medical Center.

In a tweet, OU Health said:

Thank you to the OKCPD & OKCFD, OUHSC Police, FEMA & the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences team for the quick and coordinated response to a steam pipe burst in the basement of the south tower at OU Health University of Oklahoma Medical Center on the morning of June 3. 1/3

Nearly 75 patients were safely & immediately moved from the impacted areas to other areas of our health system. The affected area encompassed the east side of the south tower. As we begin assessing the cleanup and damage to the building, all patients are safe and... 2/3

there has been minimal disruption to our services. The current impact to patient care is temporary, including emergency department divert and slight delays in surgical procedures in order to ensure we have a fully stable environment. 3/3

The Oklahoma City Fire Department says firefighters initially responded to a smoke investigation at the hospital, but a commercial fire alarm response was requested after the first firefighters on the scene reported steam rising from the basement.

Firefighters were unable to enter the basement due to extremely hot steam, according to Scott Douglas with Oklahoma City Fire. OU maintenance staff had to disable utilities to the boiler room, exposing the broken line.

Fire crews and medical staff helped relocate patients to a safe area in the hospital. Officials say a civilian experienced a medical episode and was treated and released.

A firefighter also experienced minor steam burns. OKC Fire says.

No other injuries were reported.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.