As the flames tore through the hospital's day-care center and administrative buildings on the outskirts of the grounds, workers tried to gather and calm the remaining patients. From the smell, one might have guessed the hospital itself was on fire.
"We tried to make sure they understand that it's safer sheltering in place -- that if they weren't well enough to be discharged, going out into the smoke is not a good thing," Nino said.
Most patients stayed, but a handful, including mothers with newborns, grew so agitated that they checked themselves out against medical advice.
Smoke continued to choke the lower hallways, and the ventilation system was shut to stop the tainted air from making its way to patients on the third through sixth floors. Temperatures began to climb.
A woman in labor arrived. Computers and phones failed, and the hospital's electronic drug-dispensing system stopped working, sending a pharmacist scurrying through stacks of medication with a flashlight.
"It did not create a major problem. No patients were compromised because of it," Nino said. "It's just something we didn't expect."
Some power returned about 4 a.m., and all power by 5 a.m. But the staff remained on high alert and prepared to evacuate in case the flames returned.
The failure of the power plant will be reviewed in coming days as the hospital evaluates its response to the fire.
Last month, the hospital braced itself when fires erupted in the San Fernando Valley, but the facility was unaffected. On Thursday, the hospital went through the Great Southern California Shakeout, a drill for a magnitude 7.8 earthquake.
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andrew.blankstein@latimes.com
seema.mehta@latimes.com
Times staff writer Garrett Therolf contributed to this report
