Smoke at Conrad clinic results in temporary closure

By: 
Robert Maharry

Smoke from within the building shut down the Unitypoint Health clinic in Conrad on Thursday morning, and the operations will be moved to Marshalltown on a temporary basis until the issues are resolved.
           
According to the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, employees on the premises reported that smoke was emanating from the furnace area at around 7:10 a.m., and Conrad Fire Chief Chad Hupfeld told The Grundy Register that a shorted wire inside of the furnace was the likely culprit. Unitypoint-Marshalltown Spokeswoman Laura Rainey added during a subsequent interview, however, that the source may have come from a dehumidifier in the same room. 
           
“We didn’t have to shoot any water at all. We just started venting the building,” Hupfeld said. “The clinic personnel, they were great to work with. Any questions they had or questions we had, we relayed to them.”
 
Firefighters from the Beaman and Conrad departments as well as the Beaman Conrad Emergency Response Team (BCERTs) were on the scene until 9:15, and all employees and patients were evacuated. No injuries were reported.
           
A representative of Rainbow International, a Beaman-based restoration and repair company, arrived sometime around 9:00 a.m.
 
Rainey told The Grundy Register that she anticipates the Conrad facility being closed for about a week while repairs and inspections are completed. In the meantime, patients will have the option to utilize the clinics in either Marshalltown or Grundy Center. 
 
"It could've been a lot worse," Rainey said. 
 
For the full story, see this week's Grundy Register. Subscribe by calling (319) 824-6958 or clicking here. 

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