Fortaleza's César Cals Hospital Closes Indefinitely After Substation Fire

Overview

• State health officials completed the relocation of 117 babies and 153 women to municipal and state facilities across Fortaleza.
• The fire originated in an external electrical substation on November 13, causing heavy smoke and power loss but no reported injuries and no damage to care areas, according to Sesa and firefighters.
• Enel installed five generators to sustain the neonatal ICU and is connecting additional large units to other wings to bolster emergency power.
• Sesa will contact patients directly to rebook consultations and exams, and a guidance team remains at the hospital annex for in‑person information.
• Community volunteers and nearby merchants at Beco da Poeira turned shops into improvised care spaces for incubator‑dependent infants, as clinicians even completed a cesarean using flashlights during the outage.