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Hospital, Firefighters Handle Smoky Situation

HONESDALE  — Fire officials say something went wrong with a heater inside a hospital in Wayne County. Fire crews responded to Wayne Memorial Hospital in H...

HONESDALE  -- Fire officials say something went wrong with a heater inside a hospital in Wayne County.

Fire crews responded to Wayne Memorial Hospital in Honesdale around 2 p.m. Sunday and the hospital put its fire plan into effect.

And while the patients never had to leave their rooms, all that smoke made things interesting for those at the hospital.

All that smoke started building up on the third floor. Fire crews were on the scene quickly and the situation was under control.

For Paula Grado of Lake Ariel, who was in the maternity wing in the middle of tests, it was a little scary.

"They told me there's smoke across the hall. I'm like, 'What?'" Grado said.

Ambulances were near one of the exits and a lot of emergency crews were prepared for the worst. However, hospital officials say no evacuation was needed in this case because the smoke was contained to a room for staff.

Folks who were inside Wayne Memorial said the smoke caused everyone to worry, but the nurses and staff executed its emergency plan.

"They had the whole third floor locked down, put everyone in their rooms and shut the doors," Grado said.

"There was more than just an odor of smoke. There was visible smoke that was banking down off the ceiling, contained to a small section of the hospital. Many compartments for fire walls and fire protection that kept the smoke contained," said Deputy Fire Chief Brian Dulay.

Fire officials say the cause of all that smoke was a heater that malfunctioned, but since hospital staff went into action and kept the smoke from spreading to patients' rooms, the end result was a big relief for everyone including the mother-to-be.

"I'm just happy we're all okay at least, nothing really intense," Grado said.

Firefighters helped clear the smoke from the third floor at the hospital. According to officials, hospital operations were back to normal soon after the incident.

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