On March 24, 1987 shortly after midnight, an electrical fire at a metal processing plant in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania generated a cloud of potentially toxic fumes which caused 15,000 residents to be rousted from sleep and evacuated from their homes. Emergency workers operating from local and county Emergency Operations Centers staged an extraordinarily smooth and successful evacuation, including the relocation of over 250 hospital and nursing home patients. The disaster showcased the value of good emergency operations planning, training, coordination, and practice as well as the wisdom of pre-fire plans.