Night-time Fire Hits Elbląg City Hospital

The news in Polish

1. wybuchnąć
   zacząć się nagle i gwałtownie, zwykle o pożarze, wojnie lub konflikcie ↩︎
2. pożar  (m.)
   duży ogień, który niszczy budynki, lasy lub inne miejsca ↩︎
3. administracyjny
   dotyczący zarządzania instytucją, urzędem lub firmą ↩︎
4. strażak  (m.)
   osoby, których praca polega na gaszeniu pożarów i pomaganiu w wypadkach ↩︎
5. ewakuować
   przenieść ludzi z niebezpiecznego miejsca w bezpieczne ↩︎
6. wstrzymać
   zatrzymać coś na pewien czas, przerwać wykonywanie czegoś ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: Which part of the hospital was on fire during the night?

Question 2: What happened to the patients in the hospital during the fire?

Vocabulary

Polish	English
wybuchnąć	to break out
pożar  (m.)	fire
administracyjny	administrative
strażak  (m.)	firefighter
ewakuować	to evacuate
wstrzymać	to suspend / to halt

Read the full story

A night-time fire broke out at the City Hospital in Elbląg, in north-eastern Poland, but was brought under control without injuries or the need to evacuate patients, according to local authorities and fire services.

The blaze started in the early hours of 26 November in the administrative building of the hospital on Komeńskiego Street. The structure, including its roof, was undergoing renovation and thermal modernisation at the time. The regional fire brigade in Olsztyn reported that the emergency call came in at around 1:41 a.m., and arriving crews found the roof covering already burning across a large area.

In total, between seven and nine fire service units, or around 27 firefighters, took part in the operation, depending on the source. They fought the flames for several hours and managed to stop the fire from spreading to other parts of the hospital complex. The incident was described as initially very serious, but the responders succeeded in localising the fire to the administrative part of the site.

Police and city officials stated that there was no threat to patients at any stage. The main entrance to the hospital grounds was temporarily closed while the operation was underway, but the medical buildings where patients are treated continued to function normally. No patients or staff members were reported injured.

The mayor of Elbląg, Michał Missan, visited the scene and later wrote on social media that the fire had been extinguished and that patients were safe. He publicly thanked the emergency services for what he called their efficient and effective work. City authorities continued to monitor the situation as the night progressed.

Hospital representative Jacek Wójcik stressed that the most important fact was the absence of casualties. He explained that the outpatient clinic at Komeńskiego Street would operate as usual. However, due to organisational issues related to the fire and the damaged administrative facilities, the hospital has temporarily suspended planned (elective) admissions. Emergency treatment and ongoing inpatient care are being maintained.

The affected administrative building had been close to the end of its renovation project, which included installing a new roof and windows as part of an energy-efficiency upgrade. The cause of the fire is not yet known. Investigators and expert assessors are expected to examine the site and determine how the blaze started.

The incident in Elbląg highlights the role of Poland’s local fire services and municipal authorities in responding quickly to emergencies in critical infrastructure such as hospitals, and shows how hospital operations can be partly maintained even when support buildings are damaged.

Info: ‘Polish Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Polish’, a language school dedicated to teaching Polish, where we offer various online Polish courses for learners at different levels.