Clara Maass Survives Power Outage

Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville experienced a power outage from 9 to 11:30 p.m. Friday night.

Fast work by county and Belleville public safety and emergency personnel helped the Medical Center avoid sudden evacuations, according to Kathy Toscano, director of public relations at Clara Maass.

The power outage occurred while Public Service Electric & Gas were working on power lines, and the utility's technicians fixed the problem by 11:30 p.m., Toscano said.

Nancy Tucker of the Public Service press office confirmed the outage, and said the cause is under investigation.

"The one thing we do know is that the outage was caused by a problem with a line tied a switching station nearby," Tucker said Saturday morning.

The medical center used emergency power generators during the outage, Toscano said.

"There was no change in efficiency and patient services," Toscano said. "Care was not interrupted. We are very grateful to the Sheriff’s Department, and Belleville police, fire and EMS for getting there so fast and being available to help with whatever we needed."

Police set up a mobile command station at the medical center, police officials said.

Additional medical staff was also called in just in case they were needed, Toscano said.