Crews fight fire on Jefferson Hospital's roof
JEFFERSON HILLS, Pa. (KDKA) -- Crews responded to a fire on the roof of Jefferson Hospital on Tuesday.
The small fire that broke out shortly before 11:30 a.m. caused smoke to get into the hospital's upper floors through the air handling system, a spokesperson for Allegheny Health Network said in a statement.
Some floors were impacted by smoke, but patient care areas weren't significantly affected and the building wasn't evacuated, AHN said. The impacted floors were ventilated to clear any remaining smoke.
"From my understanding, there was some welding going on that caught some insulation on fire and that spread and that caused some smoke to go throughout the building. Most of what we were dealing with today was ... smoke fumes," said AHN public relations director Bill Toland.
The hospital temporarily diverted patients from its emergency department as a precautionary measure, but that diversion has since been lifted.
AHN said the fire was quickly contained and no patients or employees were injured. Three construction workers were treated for smoke inhalation.
"We appreciate the rapid response of all the fire crews and EMS crews. It's better to have too many than not enough. Glad they were on site and glad they weren't needed," Toland said.
The Allegheny County fire marshal's office determined the cause of the fire to be accidental.