Aintree University Hospital has given an update after their A&E was forced to close following a fire.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) were made aware of a fire at the hospital at 4.34am on Wednesday, August 10. Six fire engines arrived at the scene just six minutes later and found a plant building on the roof, next to Accident & Emergency, was on fire.
The power was isolated and parts of the hospital were evacuated from nearby areas while firefighters worked to tackle the blaze. There were no reports of any casualties.
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Merseyside Police cordoned off the road in front of the emergency department, while vehicles were being marshalled away from the drop off entrance on Lower Lane. At the incident's peak, there were 10 fire engines on scene as crews worked to ensure the fire did not spread beyond the plant building.
However, firefighting operations were still in progress in a battery storage room in the building at 10am, where crews monitored temperatures with on-site engineers and firefighters formulated plans to remove the affected batteries to a place of safety.
All fire service operations have now ended, with the final crew leaving the scene at 3.48pm. A MFRS investigation into the cause of the fire was carried out and determined the fire started accidentally.
In an update on Wednesday evening, Dr Jim Gardner, Medical Director at Liverpool University Hospitals, said A&E officially reopened at 8.30pm on Tuesday and thanked staff for their efforts.
He said: “I’m pleased to confirm that the A&E Department at Aintree University Hospital has fully reopened from 8.30pm this evening. I’d like to thank our teams at Aintree Hospital and colleagues from Merseyside Fire and Rescue and Merseyside Police, whose calm and professional response in the early hours of this morning ensured no patients were harmed and the fire was contained.
“I’d also like to express sincere thanks to colleagues at North West Ambulance Service and at neighbouring hospitals and healthcare facilities for their support today while our A&E department has been closed and patients have been diverted elsewhere. The impact has been felt across local health services and this will have presented additional challenges to already pressured organisations.
“Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the support we have received today from the people we serve - our local communities - which has been hugely valued by us all.”
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