Emergency center at Natividad Medical Center partially reopen after fire

The Natividad Medical Center Emergency Department was partially reopened Friday afternoon after an electric fire that occurred early in the morning.

The fire started around 6:30 a.m. in a computer battery charging station. At the time, there were two patients in the emergency department, who were moved to another area of the hospital and treatment continued.

The fire caused a large amount of smoke and extinguisher residue, but very little physical damage and no injuries, according to hospital spokeswoman Maia Carroll.

With the exception of ambulance traffic, which had to be temporarily diverted, all patients who arrived at Natividad for emergency care were treated and either admitted or discharged normally.