After the East Boulevard blaze, Charlotte firefighters responded to two more fire calls early Tuesday. One required the movement of 27 patients at Carolinas Medical Center, another caused $250,000 in damage at an apartment complex in southwest Charlotte.
One fire started about 1 a.m., soon after most firefighters were cleared from the apartments on East Boulevard. The fire broke out at an apartment complex at 3130 Heathstead Place. Fire investigators said the fire started with flammable materials stored too close to an electrical transformer. The fire went up the exterior wall and burned its way into the attic over several of the condominiums. Two firefighters received minor injuries; no residents were hurt.
The fire call at the intensive care unit at Carolinas Medical Center started about 4:30 a.m. Alan Taylor, spokesman for the hospital, said it's possible that construction on the roof made a hot spot that set off the hospital's sensitive fire detection equipment. Taylor said 13 infants from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and 14 patients of the Dickson Heart Unit were temporarily relocated to other units because of leaking water used to fight the fire. All were unhurt and back in their regular rooms by 8:30 a.m.
Distributed by the Associated Press
