Springfield firefighters respond to a several trash fires at the shuttered Vibra Hospital.
Photo credit: Springfield Fire and Emergency Services
SPRINGFIELD — A fire at the shuttered Vibra Hospital building at 1400-1414 State St. on Oct. 28 was the most recent development in the city’s ongoing struggle regarding the property.
It has been more than a year since Springfield entered into an agreement with Vibra Healthcare to purchase the shuttered hospital building at 1400-1414 State St. for $1, but the transaction has yet to happen. Since the agreement was reached in October 2024, the city maintains, the building has been allowed to deteriorate.
While at a press conference at Forest Park on Oct. 28, Mayor Domenic Sarno addressed that morning’s fire. He said the company needed to “do the proper boarding and securing” of the building to keep people from entering and causing damage. Referring to the planned transfer of ownership to the city. “We were ready to roll,” he said. “In the meantime, they let the property go.” Sarno said the city had tried to “force the issue” in July by taking legal action to have the building secured.
Associate City Solicitor Amber Gould, who is handling the code enforcement case regarding the property, said that in a court agreement dating from July 19, “Vibra was ordered and agreed to, among other things, maintain the properties as boarded, secure and clean.” She added that the company had indicated that it had hired its former operations manager Steve Wagner to “conduct daily inspections at the properties two times per day on weekdays and one time per day on weekends.”
Despite this, Gould said the building had not been cleaned or secured. On Oct. 23, five days before the fire, the city filed an emergency motion “requesting an order that the owner board, secure, and clean the subject properties as well as hire a security company to provide 24-hour security services continuously at the subject properties.” Two days later, Western Division Housing Court First Justice Jonathan Kane issued the order, requiring the company to clean and secure the property no later than Oct. 30 and hire security by Nov. 1.
In July, Chief Development Officer Timothy Sheehan had said the city had tried to contact Vibra Healthcare throughout the first half of the year, with little response, however Gould said she is now in contact with Daniel Finnegan, the lawyer representing Vibra Healthcare.
Built in 1870, the building was once Springfield City Hospital and a portion of it was used as an isolation hospital for patients with tuberculosis. It was sold by the city for $3 million in 1980. The 17-acre property was last assessed at $6.4 million.
Several people who were seen leaving the building Oct. 28 were detained by Springfield police in connection with the fire, highlighting the property’s security issues.
At the July press conference, Fire Commissioner B.J. Calvi called the building “a firefighter killer” and said he would not allow firefighters to enter the building in its current condition to put out a fire.
Calvi told Reminder Publishing via email that when responding to the Oct. 28 fire, “we charged the sprinkler system from hydrants on State Street to knock down the fire. Then, access holes were cut in the plywood to give us more entry and exit points. Once that was done, we used fans to clear the smoke and carbon monoxide. Once visibility improved, firefighters then entered the building to search and mop up any fire remaining.”
The firefighting process that was used is slower than traditional methods, but Calvi said, “As I stated before, due to the hazards associated with that building we will not enter under limited visibility conditions.”
