ALLENTOWN, LEHIGH CO. (WOLF) — Two weeks since the fire at the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Dickson City, officials are sharing their story.

“It’s very unusual to have a fire at a hospital,” said Bob Begliomini, President of Jefferson Health for the Lehigh Valley Region.

He recalled that night when we met with him, saying that it was because of the excellent work EMS did that no one was killed or seriously injured.

“It’s very rare to have to evacuate a hospital,” explained Begliomini. “Oftentimes, you know in advance if there’s a hurricane perhaps approaching, you may have some time. There was no time here. There was a fire, and the team had to think quickly, and they did. So they made some decisions very quickly, and they kept everyone safe.”

One such responder was David Spalding. He had volunteered for the Throop Fire Department when he was in nursing school years ago and was watching a basketball game on his couch when he got the alert.

“Firemen always want to go on fire and help in any way that we can,” said Spalding. “When I heard that there was an evacuation order, I knew that it was going to be a very large fire. And there’s just a drive that when you hear something like that, you want to be able to help.”

He now lives around the Lehigh Valley but drove the hour and a half to the station, geared up, and battled the blaze on the roof – working until nearly 5 A.M. after which he had to then drive home.

Despite the almost 100 firefighters on the scene, he said he never had a doubt on his way to the scene.

“It’s my duty,” said Spalding. “It’s my privilege to wear this uniform. It’s a privilege to wear my scrubs. I just wanted to help in any way that I could, so I. I definitely don’t do it for any accolades, I just want to give back to the community.

Now the hospital is partially back open and Begliomini says that it’s now time to focus on the present and future.

“Now our teams are centered on how do we continue to deliver care that we were delivering prior to the fire,” said Begliomini. “So, opening up orthopedic practices, so physician offices, as well as rehabilitation sites so patients can get the physical therapy or occupational therapy they need.”

The cause of the fire has yet to be revealed, and work is currently underway to get the hospital back up to running as normal.