Frustrated patient sets off ER sprinklers, floods hospital rooms, police say
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Laura Samuel. (Multomnah County Sheriff's Office)
An Oregon woman who got frustrated about her emergency room care is now in jail facing arson charges after she triggered the sprinkler system and flooded several hospital rooms, police say.
Note to self: flooding the ER will not shorten my hospital stay but will result in my arrest https://t.co/HBZtXnhvY2 pic.twitter.com/wwsPMYweW9
— Gresham Police Dept. (@GreshamPD) February 16, 2016
Laura Samuel, 33, was taken to Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham Friday morning for an evaluation, Fox 12 Oregon reports.
Police say she was frustrated with how long it took for her to get discharged, so she first broke the telephone in her room.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Not drawing the attention she desired Samuel appears to have then used the phone's battery to break a fire alarm light in a nearby hallway bathroom," according to a Gresham Police Department release.
Breaking the alarm light did not set off the fire alarm, so investigators say Samuel turned to the sprinkler system.
Police say Samuel used some kind of heat source to damage a wax plug on a sprinkler in the bathroom. That started the alarm and sprinkler system, unleashing 60 gallons of water per minute into two bathrooms, three hospital rooms, and the hallway.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The cleanup efforts made three rooms unusable for several hours.
Samuel was arrested on charges of arson, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.