Amanda Purcell is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the medical office building at Columbia Memorial Hospital was evacuated Oct. 26, due to a massive power outage and smoke conditions. Hudson Assistant Fire Chief Shawn Hoffman said firefighters believe a contractor digging in the area struck the main power line, causing the power to shut down. The outage caused one of the breakers to overload, and smoke spread throughout the building, Hoffman said. It is unknown exactly how many people were evacuated, but firefighters did confirm that at least three people were rescued from the elevators. The main hospital building was not affected. Firefighters responded to a fire alarm activation at 67 Prospect Ave. at 3:20 p.m. and cleared the scene around 7:30 p.m. William Van Slyke, vice president of patient experience and external affairs at Columbia Memorial Health, said the building will remain closed on Friday. The blood draw service, normally housed in the medical office building, has been moved to the main building for the day, he said. The parking garage elevators in the parking garage are out of service and those using the garage must use the hospital’s valet service, which will be offered free of charge, Van Slyke said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.