While rescuers evacuated flooded homes and saved stranded motorists in Oklahoma City’s 10-inch rainfall Monday, staff at OMRF worked to avert another potential disaster brought on by the record rainfall.
Rains seeped into a circuit breaker at OMRF, causing a power outage that lasted from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Power was lost again overnight before being fully restored early Tuesday morning.
“Our scientists’ work relies on biological samples gathered from patients, and those samples must remain refrigerated at very low temperatures,” OMRF President Stephen Prescott, M.D., said. “When we lost power, the samples—and all of the research they make possible—were in jeopardy.”
Michael Kinter, Ph.D., who researches how certain types of oxygen molecules impact cardiovascular disease, lost power in his lab on Monday. He said his biggest concern was keeping cells he’s using in a heart disease disease experiment, which are normally stored at -80 degrees Fahrenheit, from rising above -40 degrees.
“We have cells we’ve been working on for a month that have been treated with selenium,” he said. “Damage to the samples would have put us back at square one.”
In OMRF’s darkened hallways, OMRF staff immediately went to work transferring cell lines to freezers powered by back-up generators. Where possible, they moved freezers to outlets powered by the back-up generators. But in some cases, they were forced to improvise.
“Without the use of elevators, some freezers just couldn’t be moved,” said Mike Austin, who helped lead the effort. “To keep the -80 degree freezers going, we carried dry ice upstairs to scientists and technicians.”
Austin and nine other staff members continued their vigil throughout the night, working to preserve samples and restore power. In case electricity was not restored by morning, OMRF brought in a refrigerated food storage truck that could hold samples at -20 degree temperatures.
Fortunately, working with OG&E, OMRF was able to restore power at 6 a.m. Tuesday. Kinter’s samples, along with those of all of his fellow OMRF scientists, appear to have survived intact.
“Our staff really went the extra mile to protect these irreplaceable resources,” Prescott said.
Going forward, OMRF will add another back-up generator in its main building. In addition, its new research tower will contain a state-of-the-art biorepository facility designed to protect patient samples such as cells, serum and tissue.
“Adversity can be a great teacher,” said Prescott. “This experience has, of course, taught us ways in which we‘ll improve our back-up power system in the future. But it’s also shown us that no matter what system we have, the most important resource in an emergency situation is a dedicated and resourceful staff.”
