Aintree Hospital fire: A&E department open again after evacuation and closure

Aintree University Hospital’s Accident & Emergency department has reopened after a fire on Wednesday morning forced it to be shut down for the majority of the day.

Patients were also evacuated from the hospital but no-one was injured during the blaze.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service were on scene at 4:40am, with eight fire engines and police eventually attending the incident before evacuating the A&E department and putting a cordon in place.

The A&E was closed down but Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Aintree Hospital, confirmed the department had fully reopened by 8.30pm.

Dr Jim Gardner, medical director at the Liverpool NHS trust, said: “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.”

What happened during the fire at Aintree Hospital?

Merseyside fire crews found that the blaze started in an electrical plant on the roof of a three-storey building next to A&E, which was on fire.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus rapidly began to fight the fire to prevent it spreading and liaised with staff to evacuate patients from the areas near to the fire.

Crews continued to fight the blaze on the roof in a battery storage room for several hours and while plans were made to remove the affected batteries.

Firefighters finally left the scene at around 4pm and an investigation into the cause of the fire determined it was started accidentally.