MANCHESTER - Eighteen kidney dialysis patients were among the dozens of employees evacuated Friday morning from the 12-story Brady Sullivan Tower when a fire in an elevator generator spread smoke though the building.

No one was injured in the incident that happened about 8:45 a.m. Fire Chief James Burkush said 18 patients, who were receiving dialysis treatment at the Manchester Kidney Center, which just recently moved into the first floor of the 1750 Elm St. building, were outside for only a few minutes before the building was cleared of smoke and they were allowed back inside.

District Fire Chief James Michael said a second-alarm was called because of the size of the building, the large number of people in it and because it took time for firefighters to locate the fire. Once they found the fire in a 3-by-6-foot elevator generator, they quickly extinguished it.
He said smoke from the fire was swept up into the air conditioning system and spread throughout the first four floors of the building.


The building has two sections - one with four floors and the other with 12, Michael explained. The entire building was evacuated as a precaution.

Burkush said the Manchester Transit Authority was called to bring buses to the site to accommodate the kidney dialysis patients, but by the time they arrived the patients already were back inside.

The under control was sounded about 30 minutes after the fire was reported. Office workers were then allowed back inside but some had to trudge up the stairs to their offices because the elevators were temporarily shut down.

Soon after, however, all were back in use, except for the one with the damaged generator.