Operations cancelled as fire hits Royal Blackburn Hospital

The cause of the fire, which was discovered just after 1am, was still being investigated as the Lancashire Telegraph went to press. But the disruption caused a number of operations to be cancelled.

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Although the fire was contained in one room on the third floor, the 34-bed Ward C14 was evacuated due to the smoke.

It is thought the contents of the side room were destroyed, although hospital bosses declined to explain what was on fire or the extent of the damage.

John Taylor, a spokesman for Lancashire Fire & Rescue, said 20 firefighters attended the incident. He said nobody was injured and the fire was not thought to have been started deliberately.

Patients were evacuated to a safe place within the hospital.

Gillian Simpson, director of operations at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Patients were safely moved and their relatives were informed. This meant that there was some disruption to services and a number of planned operations had to be cancelled.

“The trust continues to work closely with colleagues in the police and fire service to establish the cause of the fire.”

Following ventilation tests, 16 patients returned to the ward at about 3.30pm. Eight were expected to return last night.

The trust was also asked whether a patient was in the side room when the fire started, whether any patients suffered a deterioration in health as a result of the incident, and how many operations were cancelled — but it declined to answer.