HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1987-10-14, Page 41I'age l(;
Explosion
hospitalized two in 1981
• from page 14
alarms at Hurum ie\i . but on Thursday
the Clinton Police and local fire depart-
ment arri\ ed at the scene minutes after
the 1-45 p nn call was received.
t'Irntun Police t'unstable Don Arm-
strong admitted that he was shoc':ed to
see what had happened, especially
▪ ince his w de. hosenlar} . was one of
the victims. Mrs. Armstrong was in the
auditorium at the time of the blast and
suffered second degree burns_
Blood. broken ,lass and deris
covered the floors and parkin:; area at
the home for the aged but Constable
Armstrong, stud that aver. one was in
control and handled the situation with
complete elf icienr\ Volunteer help
from .ill areas :it Huron\-tew rushed to
the scene to offer assistance from
sweeping up glass to preparini. ban-
dages Resident ph) sicuun [)r C.F.
Duorl\ , [)r [:a) Flowers of Clinton and
Dr- Linda Steele. who is helping during
the hobdav s. renuiv ed handfuls of glass
trnni faces, grins and le:;sThe stop-
ped the profuse bleeding. dressed cuts
and tried to comfort the injured who
were stretc nein out across the Huron-
irw l;lV ns timer, stoocL holding large
white sheets o' er the victims to shade
them from the hot afternoon sun.
\nllnil,tnrc ..nmi t;odcrich. SeAforth
and Zurich rushed the injured to Clinton
Public Hospital. Staff there was
prepared to handle the emergency and
eight workers from the next shift were
brought in to help. Dr. W.T. Harrett and
Dr. Brian Baker, both of Clinton, along
with Dr. Steel, Dr. Flowers and his
daughter, Michelle, who is studying
medicine, cleaned, stitched and ban-
daged the wounded in the hospital's
small emergency room. Dr. Ken
Lambert of Goderich performed minor
surgery to repair an injured tendon.
"The victims looked a lot worse than
they really were," hospital ad-
ministrator Doug Coventry noted, ex-
plaining that most of the injured suf-
fered from many small cuts and lacera-
tions from tiny pieces of glass, resulting
in a great loss of blood.
The Clinton hospital, in the process of
raising funds to help pay for a new,
larger emergency wing, was filled with
the injured.
The emergency room, normally
capable of handling two cases, was fill-
ed. The operating room, waiting room,
X-ray room and examination rooms
were also put into use while doctors and
nurses tended to the wounded.
Mr. Coventry praised Mrs. Scruton
for her responsible actions at,.,the
hospital. by bringing in Day Care
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as well as Staff relief.
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• Nursing Staff
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records of the injured for the doctors'
use.
"It helped the doctors in knowing who
bad heart conditions and any other
medical history," he noted.
Beds and rooms were made available
for the more seriously injured, a
waiting room was set aside, coffee was
served and Mr. Coventry said, "There
was no panic or fuss. The staff just went
about their jobs and treated everyone."
He noted that the emergency was a
good test for the hospital and said that
the doctors and nurses could have
handled twice as many injuries, if they
weren't serious ones. If any victim had
required -,immediate surgery they
would have been transferred to
Goderich or London.
Many people, Mr. Coventry said, are
now realising the worth of a hospital in
this community. "It will bring it to their
attention that we're needed around
here."
At Huronview, administrator Wayne
Lester says that things are almost back
to normal in the 310 bed home. Seven
Huronview residents who lived above
the auditorium are still living in other
portions of the home. The apartments
were not heavily damaged, but will
Turn to page 17
Huron Day
Centre for the
Homebound
Keep up the
great work!
FRANK COWAN
'A Insurance
Municipal & School
Insurance
(..'
Princeton
458-4331