Fire Forces a Hospital Evacuation

Sixty patients were evacuated from the Greater El Monte Community Hospital today after fire broke out in some ductwork on the hospital roof, authorities said.

The fire was reported around 4:15 a.m. on a section of the roof above the intensive care unit of the hospital, located in the 1700 block of Santa Anita Avenue, said Lt. William Wicker of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's Temple Station.

The effects of the fire led to a wholesale evacuation of the hospital, said Lt. Loy McBride, also of the Temple Station.

"I was told they evacuated 60 patients," McBride said,     The fire, in ductwork on the roof, was extinguished at 4:47 a.m., and patients were allowed back into the building, said county fire dispatch Supervisor Ed Pickett. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

McBride said no injuries were reported.

-- City News Service