Penn Highlands hospital repairs electrical issue after firefighters were called Tuesday night

Penn Highlands State College, a new hospital in Patton Township, is fully operational after a breaker malfunctioned Tuesday evening and police and firefighters were dispatched.

The health care system put out a statement Wednesday morning that said a 225-amp breaker malfunctioned around 11 p.m. Tuesday.

“All patients and staff are safe. The building Is fully operational and continues to provide care for the Centre County community. Penn Highlands Healthcare’s top priority is always the safety of our patients, visitors and staff,” Corinne G. Laboon, system communications manager for Penn Highlands Healthcare, said in the statement.

The dispatch indicated there was some smoke or haze in the building out of an electrical room. Jonathan Risley, assistant chief of emergency management for the Centre Region Fire Protection Program, said in a phone interview Wednesday that when he arrived at the scene there was no smoke in the building, although there could have been prior to his arrival.

The Alpha Fire Company and Patton Township Police Department responded to the scene. Firefighters searched the building to find the problem, Risley said, and it ended up being an electrical issue. On Wednesday afternoon, Laboon said the issue was fixed.

“A pinched wire wore through which tripped the breaker. The breaker functioned properly by interrupting the flow of current — ultimately protecting the electrical circuits from damage. Early this morning, electricians repaired and replaced the faulty wire and service was restored to normal,” Laboon wrote.

There were no injuries reported and it didn’t impact the hospital’s patient care.

“The good thing is that when the breaker tripped, it was only for some lighting that was in the building. It didn’t actually impact patient care. No patients were in jeopardy … at any point in time, to my knowledge,” Risley said.

Although a widely-shared Centre PA Fire Wire Facebook post indicated there was a “large explosion” based on the call, there was no evidence of that, Risley said. There was no detonation that he is aware of and they weren’t able to see any physical damage to the electrical panel that would have shown it blew up.

Still, Risley said, someone heard a loud, abnormal noise and smoke was seen from it. Calling emergency services and reporting it was the right thing to do, he said.

“When in doubt, call 911,” Risley said. “It’s better safe than sorry in that sense. But also, you know, we’re here to serve, happy to check out regardless of time of day.”