{"id":110594,"date":"2026-02-11T00:54:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T00:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/110594\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T00:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T00:54:11","slug":"shapiro-lauds-first-responders-to-lehigh-valley-hospital-dickson-city-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/110594\/","title":{"rendered":"Shapiro lauds first responders to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Dickson City fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

DICKSON CITY \u2014 Before Gov. Josh Shapiro thanked first responders who battled a fire at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Dickson City late Wednesday, he viewed the damage himself.<\/p>\n

He left the scene with even more appreciation for the work of firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and hospital staff.<\/p>\n

\"DicksonDickson City Mayor Robert MacCallum shakes hand with Governor Josh Shapiro at Dickson City Fire Department\u2019s Eagle Hose Company No. 1 on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. The governor along with Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner Thomas Cook visited the department to show support to first responders after last week\u2019s Lehigh Valley Hospital fire. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n

\u201cI stopped by there on my way over because I wanted to see it in person,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cObviously, the scope of the damage was extraordinary. And when you\u2019re approaching a scene like that, it\u2019s very complex because it\u2019s not just some vacant building where you have to put out a fire. You\u2019re in a densely populated area with 77 people in the hospital. The staff acted so courageously and did a great job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shapiro praised first responders\u2019 skill and bravery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m grateful there are people like you out there that when the bell rings, you run toward danger,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is just the latest example where tragedy came to a community that would have been far worse but for the bravery of those from Eagle Hose Company No. 1 and the other eight responding departments that ran toward that hospital to extinguish the fire and ensure that everyone could get out safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dickson City Mayor Robert MacCallum \u2014 who along with state and local officials thanked first responders Tuesday afternoon at Eagle Hose Company No. 1 \u2014 announced the hospital\u2019s emergency room may reopen as soon as Friday. The next steps remain unclear.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t heard of anything else. \u2026 One step at a time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Community<\/p>\n

Community members listen to Dickson City Mayor Robert MacCallum during the press conference regarding the Lehigh Valley Hospital fire last week at Dickson City Fire Department\u2019s Eagle Hose Company No. 1 on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Governor<\/p>\n

Governor Josh Shapiro expresses gratitude for first responders quick action to the Lehigh Valley Hospital fire last week during the press conference at Dickson City Fire Department\u2019s Eagle Hose Company No. 1 on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"First<\/p>\n

First responders get ready to head out to a call during the press conference at Dickson City Fire Department\u2019s Eagle Hose Company No. 1 on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Governor<\/p>\n

Governor Josh Shapiro speaks during the press conference at Dickson City Fire Department\u2019s Eagle Hose Company No. 1 on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

\"Pennsylvania<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner Thomas Cook speaks during the press conference at Dickson City Fire Department\u2019s Eagle Hose Company No. 1 on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 5<\/p>\n

Community members listen to Dickson City Mayor Robert MacCallum during the press conference regarding the Lehigh Valley Hospital fire last week at Dickson City Fire Department\u2019s Eagle Hose Company No. 1 on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Engineers previously determined Lehigh Valley Hospital-Dickson City\u2019s main section remains structurally sound after a Wednesday fire that destroyed an older orthopedic wing in an adjoining section<\/p>\n

MacCallum called the emergency response Wednesday a \u201cteam effort\u201d and recognized the significance of having a medical facility in the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat hospital is a very important part of Dickson City, and the surrounding area,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I was growing up, there was a hospital on the other end of Main Street. It\u2019s very important to have a Main Street hospital just because of the services they provide and how times are changing of what we need in medical care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shapiro said state police have assisted with the fire investigation to determine a cause.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to find out why this happened, and how it happened, to ensure this never happens again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dickson City Fire Chief Rich Chowanec said he had not received an update from an investigator as of Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Shapiro also said he understands the urgency for reopening the facility, but stressed state Department of Health officials must sign off.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important to get this hospital up and running as quickly as possible, but the hospital will not be reopened until it is safe for people to work in and safe for people to go there for care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The governor pledged to continue to offer financial support to fire stations on top of more than $100 million in statewide grants awarded through his administration to support volunteer and career fire companies, emergency medical services and rescue squads.<\/p>\n

Shapiro\u2019s 2026-27 proposed budget includes an additional $30 million to support recruitment, retention and capital needs for volunteer and career fire companies across the state.<\/p>\n

He announced Tuesday a $37 million investment in the Fire Company and Emergency Medical Services (FCEMS) Program, from which Dickson City will receive more than $16,000.<\/p>\n

State Fire Commissioner Thomas Cook called the collaborative efforts battling Wednesday\u2019s fire a \u201crare success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have a major fire in a hospital facility, occupied by patients, some of which were in the ICU, and to safely evacuate 77 patients without any injuries and more importantly any deaths is a huge, huge accomplishment and very rare not just in Pennsylvania, but nationwide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DICKSON CITY \u2014 Before Gov. Josh Shapiro thanked first responders who battled a fire at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Dickson…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[1099,201,182,139,28,178,180,179],"class_list":["post-110594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-dickson-city","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}