Explosion fills halls with smoke
By Nicholas Alajakis
Chicago Sun Times
Copyright 2006 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Thirty cancer patients were evacuated from a Zion treatment hospital when an electrical transformer blew, sending smoke throughout the building Monday evening.
A generator transformer at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Midwest Regional Medical Center blew for unknown reasons around 5:30 p.m. The impact shook the building and filled its halls with smoke, but no fire, said Zion Fire Chief David LaBelle.
As a precautionary measure, staff at the treatment center transported all 30 cancer in-patients to other hospitals.
Twenty-two fire departments from as far away as Northbrook responded.
Ambulances took patients to Vista East Medical Center in Waukegan, Lake Forest Hospital, Highland Park Hospital, Condell Medical Center in Libertyville and Aurora and St. Catherine’s hospitals in Kenosha, Wis. No patients were injured.
The cause of the small explosion near the emergency room entrance was under investigation. However, the hospital’s CEO, Anne Meisner, said she expected the hospital to be fully operational, with all patients returned, by Tuesday morning.