BEDFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - Crews battled a fire Friday at a VA hospital in Bedford, officials say.
Firefighters responded around 3:37 p.m. to a fire alarm in Building 6 of the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital on Springs Road, according to the Bedford Fire Department.
Upon arrival, firefighters observed smoke on the first floor of the building and later located it on the second and third floors of the building.
Bedford firefighters assisted hospital staff with relocating patients to a separate area of the hospital from the one affected floor that was occupied, officials say.
Firefighters determined that the smoke originated from a void space between the building and a stairway.
A preliminary investigation indicates that the smoke condition was the result of smoking materials that were discarded near a debris pile in the void space.
“I commend our firefighters for helping support a safe and orderly evacuation, while also determining the root of the problem and preventing any serious damage,” Bedford Fire Chief David Grunes said in a statement. “I also want to thank our mutual aid partners for their assistance and support this afternoon.”
There were no reported injuries.
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