28 Nov 2012
Patients have been evacuated from a Northern Ireland hospital for the second time in a month following a fire.
But Northern Ireland’s health minister Edwin Poots says Londonderry’s Altnaglevin Hospital is safe and patients should not be afraid to use it.
The top five floors of the 11-storey building were evacuated after a small blaze started on the roof. The fire is being investigated but is thought to have started accidentally inside a plant room.
Nobody was injured during Friday evening’s incident, which saw some 50 firefighters called to the scene, but several wards were damaged by smoke and water.
Around 20 patients were evacuated from the same hospital earlier this month when a small fire broke out in an electrical switch room.
The Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 mean all commercial properties must have suitable and sufficient fire risk assessments carried out.
Copyright Press Association 2012