By Derek Gentile
The Berkshire Eagle
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The maternity ward of Fairview Hospital was briefly evacuated yesterday morning while firefighters determined the cause of smoke that was filling the room.
Fire Chief Harry Jennings said yesterday that a bearing in an air purification unit in the ward overheated, filling the room with smoke.
Jennings said he evacuated the ward, which had three patients in it to another part of the hospital. He also called for units from the Sheffield Fire Department as backup.
“There was a fear we might have had to evacuate the entire hospital,” he said. “But the problem was confined to that one space.”
Jennings said the problem was corrected fairly quickly. The department blew the smoke from the ward with huge fans to clear the rooms.
Copyright 2008 MediaNews Group, Inc. and New England Newspaper Group Inc.
All Rights Reserved