Damage Estimated at $100,000 After Alaska Hospital Fire

Bartlett Regional Hospital officials say water from a sprinkler system triggered by a bathroom fire caused an estimated $100,000 damage.

Hospital spokesman Jim Strader tells the Juneau Empire that the fire Sunday caused minimal damage but the bathroom was flooded.

Water seeped through the floor and down a stairwell, drenching walls and leaking into an emergency room waiting area.

Sprinklers were on for 15 minutes and deactivated manually.

A 26-year-old man arrested inside the bathroom has been charged with second-degree arson. Robert Edward Johnson is represented by Alaska Public Defender’s office, which routinely does not comment on open cases.

Juneau police say Johnson was high on methamphetamine and lit the fire when he couldn’t find a button to call a nurse. He is jailed at Lemon Creek Correctional Center.