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No power: Gould clinic evacuated

By DARYL FARNSWORTH BEE STAFF WRITER

(Published: Thursday, March 23, 2000)

A burning wire caused a 70-minute power failure Wednesday morning that disrupted services at Sutter Gould Medical Foundation and several other medical offices along Coffee Road north of Scenic Drive in Modesto.

Power went out at 9:20 a.m. and was restored by 10:30 a.m., said Modesto Irrigation District spokeswoman Maree Hawkins.

"It was an equipment problem," she said. "A wire burned at a connection, where two wires butt together in a sleeve. We don't know why, and we may never know why. The wiring may have just worn out."

The power loss forced the evacuation of staff and patients at Sutter Gould, said Craig Baize, marketing manager. "The outage caused a minor inconvenience for us, but there were no major problems.

Baize praised the MID for its quick response and the Fire Department for assisting patients who needed help leaving the building. The four-floor facility does not have backup generators, and the elevators were not working, Baize said.

The power failure also affected medical and dental offices in the Downey Park Professional Center at 1213 Coffee Road.

Theresa Swilley, a receptionist there, said phones and computers were out, although there was partial electric service.

"Dr. Michael (Gerber) was doing a filling on a female patient ... and he had to stop until the power was back on," Swilley said. "The woman returned at 1 p.m. and Dr. Gerber completed the filling."

Swilley said she and other employees used cellular telephones to call patients to reschedule their appointments. http://www.modbee.com/metro/story/0,1113,146028,00.html

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), March 24, 2000