CLINTON — A power outage on Sunday briefly caused smoke to circulate through parts of Warner Hospital & Health Services.

Emergency personnel responded to the hospital after the loss of electricity in the neighborhood created a problem with an intake fan.

“Our emergency generator kicked in right away,” hospital CEO Paul Skowron told the Clinton Journal.  “Unfortunately, that power surge caused an intake fan to have a short in the motor.  Since it was an intake fan, it blew smoke in the building, which circulated throughout the lower level, and for a short time, some of it showed up upstairs.”

Two patients were evacuated to the emergency room, while fire department personnel inspected the building for other possible issues.

“The good news is that it was isolated to that one fan,” Skowron reported.  HVAC technicians were on-site to replace the fan motor, and an evaluation is being done to cause less of a power surge in the future.”