2 workers injured at Victoria hospital after steam pipe bursts

Two Island Health workers were injured at Victoria General Hospital on Friday morning after a steam pipe exploded in the hospital's boiler room.

View Royal Fire Chief Paul Hurst says firefighters were called to the hospital around 8:30 a.m. and were quickly pointed towards the boiler room.

As firefighters made their way to the room, they found heavy, hot steam filling the hallway, leading to near zero visibility.

Firefighters slowly made their way down to the boiler room where they found two injured workers, the fire chief says.

One worker suffered serious burns to approximately 50 per cent of their body, Hurst estimates.

The other worker was injured but not as severely, according to the fire chief.

Both employees were rushed to the burn unit at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria.

Hurst notes that there was no actual fire related to the event.

Firefighters had to access roof panels to stop the flow of steam following the explosion. Significant flooding also occurred in areas near the boiler room.

Fire crews from View Royal, Langford and Esquimalt were called to the scene Friday morning, according to Hurst.

RCMP and WorkSafeBC were also called to the hospital, the fire chief says.