Norwich — A power failure late Wednesday night brought fire and ambulance crews to The William W. Backus Hospital to assist with patient care and equipment until electricity could be restored.

In a news release issued shortly after midnight, Hartford Healthcare spokesman Shawn Mawhiney said the hospital began losing power about 9 p.m. There were problems with getting the hospital's generator online, which required a manual bypass of its switch. Power started to return within 20 minutes, he said.

"There was no impact to patient care but our emergency department did go on diversion as a precaution during this time," Mawhiney said in the release. Four emergency room patients were sent to Hartford Hospital, according to the release.

Yantic Fire Department Chief Frank Blanchard said the call came in about 9:35 p.m. for the report of an equipment failure that caused the power outage. His department, along with Norwich, East Great Plain and Taftville firefighters, and American Ambulance, among other agencies, responded to assist with manpower and equipment.

He said the firefighters also investigated a strange noise and odor, which were later deemed related to the equipment failure, coming from a room in another area of the facility.

There were no hazards and no injuries reported in connection with the incident, he said. Power was fully restored about 10 p.m.

The hospital had a plan, Blanchard said, and "I think it went very well on their end."

"There was great teamwork among Backus staff and our partners, including fire departments, police department, Norwich Public Utilities and ambulances," Mawhiney said in the release.

j.meyers@theday.com