Driving to his office in Avon, Massachusetts, around 7 a.m. on February 7, 2023, John Ballas received a call from his company’s site supervisor overseeing two projects at Brockton Hospital in Brockton , Massachusetts.
“’John, there’s a fire at the hospital; you should probably come down,’” Ballas, executive vice president of project at Auburn Construction Co., recalls the supervisor saying.
After confirming that Auburn crews did not start the 10-alarm fire believed to have started in the main hospital’s electrical room, Ballas asked how bad it was. “‘I don’t know John, you should get down here, there’s a lot of black smoke coming out of this place, the first responders are showing up.'” Redirected to the hospital located 10 minutes from the Auburn office, Ballas called the company. owner to pass on the news.
The building, which was originally completed in 1896, was closed for about a year and a half while the five-level facility underwent a nearly $90 million renovation that was mostly completed in August 2024. Having completed more than 50 projects of various sizes for the hospital in the last 15 years, Auburn was well positioned to help the hospital after the fire and return the departments of the hospital online one at a time to restore hospital care to the community. “We are intimately familiar with the different departments and staff members and know how they work,” says Ballas. “We had access to blueprints as they were built, so I think we were in a unique position to step in and help.”
Ballas’ Marine Corps training also kicked off as Auburn set up a command center as emergency responders evacuated more than 160 patients and firefighters spent hours putting out the fire. “There’s a term in the military called the fog of war, basically when things start coming out and the action starts, things get confusing,” Ballas said. “It’s very important, and I think it was shocking to everyone, the scale [of the fire] and everything that was going on (in) to keep us focused on what we’re trying to achieve: let’s do it. Let’s refocus. OK, so what’s the first step? What should happen next? OK, this is where we want to be. What steps do we need to take to get there at this point?”
But Ballas is quick to note that he relied on Brian Backoff, the hospital’s director of facilities, as well as SmithGroup’s designers and business partners: Anania Plumbing and Heating and the project’s electrical contractor J. & M. Brown Co. “There are so many people who contributed to the success of the project,” Ballas said. “Everyone was focused and aware of how sensitive this project was and the impact it has on the community.”
In addition to replacing most of the electrical system, the team upgraded the hospital’s emergency department, built an ambulatory surgical facility, renovated the main lobby, upgraded labs and installed parking lot solar panels that provided 1.5 MW of power, all while tracking presentations for approx. $200 million insurance claim.
Andrew Brumbach is the sanitary studio leader in SmithGroup’s Boston office, the architect, interior designer, and mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and life safety engineer for the project. “John maintained a clear line of communication with the design and engineering team and made sure we were aware of changes and issues on site as they developed,” he says.
Brumbach added: “John has been a great partner throughout the duration of the fire recovery. He has effectively managed multiple scopes, schedules and teams. He has remained steady and calm throughout and kept the team focused on making sure that the right steps were taken, that the different parties were coordinated, and that the project was being delivered safely and on time.”
