SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Mayor Sarno and city officials are working on an Emergency Court Order to upkeep the Vibra Hospital Site in Springfield.
The Vibra Hospital building at 1400 State Street has been vacant for some time and the city has filed a court order to ensure that the building gets cleaned up and boarded up to prevent any more people from going inside.
PHOTOS: Police issue 47 violations, 16 tickets, recover stolen car in Springfield neighborhood Springfield’s Vibra Hospital used to be a place where patients could get the care that they need and after some failed attempts to secure additional funding and resources for the hospital, it closed down and has been vacant. With school being out, city officials say high school children have been finding their way into the empty building and using it to do drugs… some people have even been staying there.
Sarno says the owners of the hospital failed to maintain the property which is now making it a public safety hazard.
“Why we are here is because the overgrowth, the illegal dumping that was occurring, the border securing done in a terrible fashion, allowing individuals putting them in harms way but more importantly putting my police department and fire department in harms way,” said Sarno.
Springfield Fire Commissioner B.J. Calvi says there is at least $150,000 in damage done to the inside of the building, “The fire alarm has been ripped off the wall, the sprinklers are currently shut off to the building, every fire extinguisher that was left behind was discharged out of the building.”
According to Mayor Sarno, they have not been responding to the city’s requests and fines that are now up to $3,150.
Springfield Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers says the hospital needs to be boarded up properly and that the city is trying to clean and board up the property to protect the community, “I just don’t want anybody to get hurt. I don’t want the children to get hurt, we have people using it as a drug den. I don’t want them to get hurt. My officers or fire department going in and getting hurt. So I do think this is something that really needs to be taken care of.”
The city has been taking action on this… the hearing for this is set for next Friday.
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