Fifty firefighters have responded to a fire on Thursday morning (7 March) at University Hospital in Coventry.
The first of FRS resources arrived at the Clifford Bridge Road site within 5 minutes of the fire having been confirmed.
These included nine fire engines and Brigade Response Vehicles plus one hydraulic aerial platform from a number of fire stations including Foleshill, Binley, Coventry, Canley, Sheldon, Highgate, Kings Norton and Aston.
Early indications are that the fire involved an extractor flue leading from a boiler in a plant room outside of the hospital’s West Wing.
The fire spread up and through the flue on the outside of the building, but did not enter the building.
Station Commander Marc Hudson of West Midlands Fire Service said: “A phased evacuation took place, with a small number of patients and staff being moved to other parts of the site in line with plans for such an incident.
“Our crews extinguished the fire quickly and safely, using effective and assertive tactics. No-one was hurt, and those evacuated have been let back in.
“As well as tackling the fire, our priority was to help the hospital return quickly to business as normal and by mid-morning, we were looking at scaling down our resources.”
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust said: “West Midlands Fire Service were called immediately and the fire is now out after firefighters attended our site.
“We needed to move a small number of patients, but no further evacuations were needed.
“We would like to thank West Midlands Fire Service, and also our staff, who took quick action to respond to this incident.”
Report and image provided by West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service.
