LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — A hospital in Clinton County that was closed after a fire has reopened.
On September 10, UPMC Lock Haven was evacuated because of an underground fire in the boiler room at the hospital. The fire left smoke damage throughout the building and caused the hospital to close.
"There was some construction going on in the tunnel that connects our hospital to our boiler room. There was a fire and some smoke, but we don't have the official why it happened," said Ashley Fedroff, who works at UPMC Lock Haven.
A little over a month later, the hospital has finally reopened. According to UPMC officials, the entire building was cleaned before the reopening.
"We're back open for business as of 6 a.m. this morning. Surgeries, ER visits, outpatient visits, the whole works, everything is open."
One Lock Haven resident that we spoke to tells Newswatch 16 that she's just happy to have her hospital back.
"Oh, glad, everybody is glad, yes. What would we do without it, really?" Pat Yohe said.
"We're just happy to be back and serving our community. Again, that was the biggest impact for all of us. You know our staff continued to work throughout our system but again, not being able to be here to serve our community was the hardest hit for everybody."
RELATED: Fire at UPMC Lock Haven
During the closed period, hospital staff worked from other locations, and people with scheduled appointments were treated at other UPMC sites.
"Orthopedic doctor was still open, our foot and ankle doctor was operating out of our McElhattan office as well as our pain management doctor, so those patients were seen with no issue. Others were either sent to Williamsport, or they were rescheduled for when we reopened if it was non-emergent."
Building operations at UPMC Lock Haven are back underway. Officials at the hospital tell Newswatch 16 that surgeries, routine checkups, and ER visits fully resumed around 6 a.m. Monday.