Ward evacuated at Northampton General Hospital after roof fire

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service scrambled to Northampton General Hospital this morning.

It comes as the fire service recieved reports over the accident and emergency department roof being on fire at 10.15am.

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service has since confirmed to the Chronicle & Echo that the fire, which was described as 'small', has been put out.

One of the wards was evacuated as a precautionary measure and it is understood that nobody was injured as a result of the fire.

An eyewitness told the Chron that the entrance to A&E was shut off while firefighters tackled the incident - but the hospital has confirmed A&E did remain open.

Deborah Needham, Hospital Chief Executive, said: “I would like to commend staff on Allebone and Eleanor wards, who responded quickly and appropriately after a small fire occurred on the roof of our A&E department.

"In accordance with their fire training, staff carefully moved patients to the heart centre and Nye Bevan building while the fire service dealt with the incident.

"Thanks to the swift action of staff, all patients were evacuated safely and no one was harmed. Patients were safely returned to the wards soon afterwards and the incident has now been stood down.

"Patients elsewhere in the hospital were unaffected and the A&E department remained open throughout the incident. I would like to thank all of the teams involved in responding to this incident quickly and safely, and to the Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service for their support”