OMAK, Wash. -- A fire in the boiler at Mid-Valley Hospital in Omak early this morning sent smoke into rooms of a few patients, prompting the hospital to move them to the emergency room, a fire official said.
Omak Fire Chief Kevin Bowling said he believes there were five patients in the hospital when firefighters were called at 2:10 a.m. He said two of them were already in the emergency room, so only three had to be moved.
Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke in the basement. The smoke eventually spread throughout the patient wing, he said.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, he said.
Bowling said except for the boiler, the hospital suffered no water or fire damage. He said the hospital planned to contact the state Department of Health before allowing patients back into the part of the hospital that was hit by smoke.
Hospital officials could not be reached this morning to report whether the patient wing had reopened.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
