Famous London Hospital Evacuated After Fire Breaks Out

by mpress | January 2, 2008 at 07:07 am

1141 views | 5 Recommendations | 4 comments

Developing story

Patients are being evacuated from a world famous London hospital after a fire broke out on the top floor of the building. the roof of the Royal Marsden hospital is ablaze, with smoke billowing into the air, visible from far away.Police have closed off all roads leading to the hospital building, which the fire brigade is treating as a major incident.

Some patients have been laid on mattresses in an ambulance area on a nearby street, with nursing staff in attendance.

Source: Sky

The fire broke out about an hour ago, it has mostly died down at
this point. Most of the top floors of the 150 year old seminal cancer
treatment center appear gutted. About 75 firefighters are still
fighting the blaze.

[q
url="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7168206.stm"]Patients
are being moved from a London hospital after a "very serious" fire
broke out on the top floor.

About 40 firefighters are tackling the blaze at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Fulham Road, Chelsea, west London.

Much of the roof has been destroyed by the blaze which started at 1320 GMT and sent smoke billowing into the air.

In nearby Dovehouse Street several patients have been laid on
mattresses in an ambulance area and others have been led away wrapped
in blankets.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said it was treating the fire as "very serious" but so far there are no reported injuries.

An LFB spokesman said: "We're currently evacuating patients. We don't have numbers at the moment."

'Huge plume'

Ten ambulances, five officers, a hazardous area response team and a
fast response car were sent to the scene by the London Ambulance
Service.

A spokesman said: "Our crews are currently remaining on standby but there are no reports of any casualties at this stage."[/q]

The Royal
Marsden was the first hospital in the world dedicated to the study and
treatment of cancer. It was founded as the Free Cancer Hospital in 1851
by Dr William Marsden at 1, Cannon Row, Westminster. Marsden, deeply
affected by the death of his wife Elizabeth Ann from cancer, resolved
to classify tumours, research the causes and find new treatments. The
hospital at first consisted solely of a dispensary and the drugs
prescribed were palliative and aimed at treating symptoms, but it
allowed William Marsden the opportunity to study and research the
disease.

The hospital quickly outgrew its original premises as it became
apparent that some patients required inpatient care. It moved locations
several times during the 1850s until its benefactors decided to find a
permanent solution. Funds were raised to build a dedicated new building
on Fulham Road, Chelsea and the hospital moved to its new site in 1862.

The hospital was granted its Royal Charter of Incorporation by King
George V in 1910 and became known as The Cancer Hospital (Free). This
was subsequently changed by King Edward VIII to include the word
‘Royal’ and in 1954 the hospital was renamed The Royal Marsden Hospital
in recognition of the vision and commitment of its founder.

When the National Health Service was formed in 1948 the Royal
Marsden became a post-graduate teaching hospital. In response to the
need to expand to treat more patients and train more doctors, a second
hospital in Sutton, Surrey was opened in 1962.

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Rob Walker

at 07:49 on January 2nd, 2008

mpress

at 08:29 on January 2nd, 2008

Thanks Rob

PEP

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:46 on January 2nd, 2008

mpress, good stuff and quickly, too. Thank you.

LoopZilla

at 09:54 on January 2nd, 2008

Important story. I hear the whole hospital has been evacuated.

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Famous London Hospital Evacuated After Fire Breaks Out

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