ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - If you have a scheduled appointment coming up at MSA Orthopedic in Albany, it could possibly be cancelled.

On Tuesday, July 29, the office experienced an electrical issue that caused an enormous amount of black smoke to fill the building.

Currently, it’s causing them to not be able to make contact with patients, not have access to medical records, or even be able to fully occupy the building.

WALB visited the building that’s wrapped with yellow caution tape, and workers are working to fix the problem.

“We want patients to know that we understand that this is a real problem for them,” Dr. Henry Barnard, an Orthopedic Surgeon at the office, said. “We’re desperately trying to get the phones reconnected first of all, of course, and then secondly get our medical records so we know what’s going on with the patients.”

Updates will be posted to MSA’s Facebook page.

“This is a catastrophic event, our employees are suffering. We want to get back up and running and we anticipate that will happen in the next few days, but we just don’t know right now,” Dr. Barnard said.

Leaders say staff will be on site, but they’re asking patients to go to the emergency room if they have any urgent problems.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook and X (Twitter). For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Copyright 2025 WALB. All rights reserved.