Firefighters Douse Blaze At Cleveland Clinic In Weston
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WESTON (CBSMiami) – Hundreds of employees and patients inside the Cleveland Clinic in Weston were evacuated Friday after a propane tank exploded causing a massive fire.
No one was injured in the blaze which started around 12:30 p.m. on the roof top between the hospital and the Egil and Pauline Braathen Facility.
CLICK HERE To Watch Carey Codd's Report
The outpatient clinic building had been evacuated as firefighters sprayed water on the roof of the building located at 2950 Cleveland Clinic Boulevard.
CLICK HERE To Watch Video Of The Blaze As It Happened
Firefighters were able to keep the fire contained to the rooftop and put it out in about 25 minutes, according to Broward Sheriff's Fire Rescue.
After an hour, normal operations resumed in the outpatient clinic, according to clinic officials who also said the fire was construction-related.
Construction crews had been using a 100-pound propane tank to do work.
Sometime while the workers were on break for lunch, the tank exploded, according to Broward Sheriff's Fire Rescue.
Anthony Mendoza's colorful language shows how shocked he was when the propane tank exploded. Many of his fellow construction workers had just been on that roof before it blew.
"Everybody goes out of the building, so we're here in the parking lot and we heard the boom," said Mendoza.
Jennie Hendrickson was waiting to see her doctor when she felt the entire building shake.
"It felt like an earthquake and they told everybody to come out of the building," said Hendrickson.
Others received calls from family members from their hospital beds.
"It was a really big explosion. They didn't tell her anything. The lights went off for a minute, they closed the doors. So she was upset when she called me," said Howard Rhoat whose wife was in the hospital at the time.
The smoke was so thick, drivers could see the aftermath of the explosion from the highway
Specialized equipment under the building was not damaged since firefighters used tarps to protect the equipment.
BSO is still investigating how the initial fire started.
The construction workers said the Braathen Facility was nearly complete. No word yet if this will delay the opening.