A small fire broke out at Pembroke Regional Hospital on Sunday morning, June 14, 2026, but quick action by staff and a working sprinkler system kept the damage to one room and allowed all hospital programs and services to keep running. The Pembroke Fire Department got the call around 7:51 a.m. and had 18 firefighters on scene, working next to County of Renfrew Paramedics and Ontario Provincial Police. Officials say one patient was treated for burn injuries that were not serious, and no other patients or staff were hurt.
The fire started just after 8 a.m. in a small inpatient unit in Tower A of the hospital. The building’s sprinkler system activated and contained the flames to a single room, stopping the fire from spreading and keeping smoke from filling the rest of the facility. Fire Chief Scott Selle said the response worked exactly as it should. “I don’t think things could have gone any better than [how] they did,” he said. “Of course, you never want to see a fire. But with the combination of the sprinkler system and the response of the staff, it was almost perfect.”
All patients on the affected unit were safely moved to other clinical areas inside the hospital because of water damage. In a statement on the hospital’s website, officials said they expected to have everyone back in their usual unit by the end of the day. Sabine Mersmann, President and CEO of Pembroke Regional Hospital, was on site at the Incident Command Centre during the fire. She credited staff and physicians for how fast they acted to keep patients safe.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but officials have already ruled out an explosion. Pembroke Regional Hospital serves about 55,000 people in Pembroke, Petawawa, and other parts of Renfrew County. With nearly 900 staff and the region’s largest emergency department, keeping all services open was a relief for the community. As Fire Chief Selle put it, the outcome showed the value of good equipment and regular emergency training.
