The union says it became aware of a “troubling” electrical incident at a room in the MCP building where Medical Communications Officers were working.

The workers were taken to hospital for treatment, but the union says the situation could have been much worse.

NAPE President Jerry Earle shudders to think of the potential consequences, and he says the incident underscores significant gaps in safety at the facility.

The workers, who help to coordinate and dispatch ambulance services, were injured as the result of a power outage during a shift change.

Earle says that meant that there was a period of time when units had to be moved from other parts of the city at a time when staffing levels are already pretty precarious.

The union is calling for an immediate investigation into why staff were working in an unsafe working space. He says the outcome could have been worse, but he thanks the efforts of those on site, the St. John’s Regional Fire Department and the medical professionals involved for their quick response.

The St. John’s Regional Fire Department says some maintenance crews were working in the electrical room at the time when a breaker tripped, causing an electrical arc, or blue discharge.

The incident was called in as a possible electrical fire, but that was not the case according to the fire department.