Date Uploaded: July 12, 2026
Permanent Link: http://wnhpc.com/details/fb2178712515536676
Contributor: Carson City Community Archive on Facebook
Source: Facebook: Carson City Community Archive
Source Caption: The Nevada Appeal shared today that the Carson Tahoe Hospital (Carson Tahoe Health) fire was 50 years ago, August 1968!
For the Grundy Family the hospital fire had a very personal connection as Dr. Richard Grundy was the Chief of Staff at the time. The family would like to share some photos from "The Grundy Family Collection" of the damage after the fire.
According to a Las Vegas Sun article dated August 27, 1968, Dr. Grundy was leaving his private office, which was across the street, when he saw flames on the roof and immediately went over to start evacuations. Dr. Grundy went on to say that they had practice drills four times per year and the last one had just been in July. The article also noted residents in the area, including Governor Paul Laxalt offered rooms to help house the patients. As Carol Park and Bernard Sease commented in the Nevada Appeal article this morning, the community seems to have really rallied behind the efforts to help all those in need.
In 1994/95, Dr. Grundy participated in an UNR Oral History project (Reflections, Recollections, and Change: Oral Histories of the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners) where he commented on the fire and acknowledged Miss Hersey (Margaret Hersey) the nurse at the Stewart Indian School (Stewart Indian School) where they had a small school hospital that did help take patients and was very helpful. Dr. Grundy also noted that the new hospital being built right next door was about three months from completion at the time of the fire. Dr. Grundy concluded by saying "the hospital burned literally to the ground...without a single patient being injured."
The efforts of firefighters, some of which had smoke inhalation, and per Dr. Grundy in the oral history, one firefighter stepped on a nail and needed a tetanus shot, as well as the hospital staff, residents and community all pulled together to help both during and after the fire.
Download Photo: JPG (97 KB)
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