NORFOLK, Neb. -- Early Thursday morning, the Norfolk Fire Division responded to a fire on the bed tower of Faith Regional Hospital in Norfolk.

“Around 9:30 our crews were called to a fire on the rooftop of the bed tower,” Tim Wragge said, Chief of the Norfolk Fire Division. “We responded and immediately deployed some thermal drones and our aerial truck.” 

According to the hospital, they experienced a fire in the HVAC system on the roof of the tower. Crews arrived on scene immediately. 

“We believe that we have the fire fairly well controlled,” Wragge said. “It's just going to be very labor intensive as far as the overhaul process.”

All hospital staff and patients were escorted to the bottom floors of the building. Footage obtained showed two individuals on top of the tower while the fire was still happening.

“There is a little smoke, and we smelled a lot of smoke,” said Becca Kroll, a witness. “But really, that's really all we've seen.”

One witness reported that they were getting a loved one ready for surgery before the fire started, and they were then quickly evacuated. 

“She was getting prepped, ready to go, and then they said that there was a fire and we couldn't have surgery,” Kroll said. 

“As a little bit after 11:00 a.m., the fire is out, we broke down into investigation mode, and we were starting to release mutual aid partners from Battle Creek, Hadar and Madison,” Wragge said. “We've had solid help from local law enforcement and Faith Regional personnel, and at this point in time, no injuries of any sort have been reported.”

All entrances to the hospital were briefly closed except for the emergency room; those rooms have since been reopened. According to Faith Regional, no one had to be treated for injuries related to the fire. 

The 2700 block of West Norfolk Avenue was closed as crews worked to finish the investigation. Officials with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office advise to avoid that area.

“We just need to try to keep it safe, as far as traffic coming and going along this area, if we can,” Wragge said. 

NFD said that about 60 firefighters and 19 rigs took about 10 minutes to get control of the fire, and took another two hours to overhaul the area. 

There are about $200,000 in damages to the building.

The Norfolk Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire. 

Norfolk Fire and Rescue was assisted by Battle Creek, Hadar, Madison, Norfolk Police Division, Madison County Sheriff and Fatih Regional Staff on scene.