A huge fire broke out at Southampton General Hospital early Sunday morning, triggering a major incident and calling in over 100 firefighters to tackle the blaze.
Fire Erupts in Endoscopy Unit
The fire started around 5:30am in the hospital’s west wing endoscopy unit. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported. Staff quickly evacuated around 200 patients from the affected areas to safe zones within the hospital.
The hospital has urged visitors to stay away and cancelled all outpatient appointments scheduled for the day. Its emergency department is diverting all but the most serious cases away to other facilities.
Firefighters Contain Blaze, but Smoke Impact is Significant
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service sent more than 110 firefighters at the peak of the incident. By 10am, they had the fire under control but remained on site to damp down and clearthe smoke.
“Many of us, including myself, had a slightly rude awakening this morning and were called into the hospital, all hands on deck, to deal with what is a major incident,” said Dr Paul Grundy, Chief Medical Officer.
“The situation has been hugely challenging but we’ve held meetings every half hour with teams both inside and outside the hospital.”
The fire seems to have stayed contained to the room of origin, but the smoke spread throughout the floor, causing significant disruption.
Road Closures and Ongoing Operations
Emergency services closed roads around the Coxford Road hospital entrance. Patients have been moved to the hospital lobby and other safe areas as crews worked to clear the smoke.
Authorities advise anyone needing medical care to use other local urgent treatment centres, such as Royal South Hants Hospital or Lymington New Forest Hospital.
“The fire is out and we are scaling down operations now, but crews will remain on scene for the foreseeable future,” said Group Manager Larry Mackrell.
“At this stage, we don’t know what caused the fire.”
