Update from the local NHS on the fire at West Cumberland Hospital

North Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC) which is the NHS trust responsible for the hospital, have issued a further statement about the fire which took place at West Cumberland Hospital at the weekend, as follows:

On Saturday evening 4th February around 7pm a fire broke out in the portable offices owned by construction company GRAHAM, who are managing the redevelopment at West Cumberland Hospital (WCH).

The Fire service arrived on site shortly after 7pm and the incident was brought to a safe conclusion by around 3am.

Staff at WCH including On call teams, Estates Team, Portering teams and security teams were quick to respond to the incident, ensuring fire protocols were followed and carried out ensuring the safety of our patients and other members of staff. 

The quick response of our own teams meant windows and doors were secured to minimise the amount of smoke present in the main hospital building.

Staff present on the site were kept informed of the evolving situation and were able to then reassure all patients that the fire was contained to the portable offices and would not affect the main site.  No patients were moved or evacuated during the incident. 

The hospital was able to remain open for anyone in need of emergency care as well as maternity care. The teams at WCH liaised with North West Ambulance Service to keep them abreast of the situation and reassure the teams that access to the site was not impeded by the incident. 

The portering teams were able to help manage the flow of traffic to the site.

The portable cabins are a safe distance from the main hospital building as per building and fire regulations in the event of an incident like the one on Saturday.

The Fire service will now work to determine the cause of the fire and GRAHAM will carry out work with a structural engineer to safely remove the damaged cabins from the site.  

GRAHAM will also assess the ongoing construction work at the redevelopment site.

NCIC would like to thank all of our staff who worked together in an efficient manner to manage the incident and keep the safety of our patients and staff as the number one priority.

Fire incident at WCH

On Saturday evening (4th February 2023) Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service (FRS) received notification of a fire on the hospital grounds of West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven. 

On arrival the initial Fire and Rescue crews found a three story temporary structure involved in fire. 

The structure which was on fire can be best described as stacked portacabins which were being used by building contractors. 

Cumbria Fire & Rescue Officers identified that the incident required five fire appliances and specialist fire appliances including the aerial ladder platform, the Joint Incident Command Unit and the welfare vehicle also attending the incident to support with firefighting operations.

A Joint Emergency Services meeting took place at midnight last night which included management representatives from West Cumberland Hospital. 

There has been no direct impact on the hospital building from the fire or smoke, and the ‘stay put’ policy for patients remains in place. It is also my understanding that nobody was hurt.

Response to the incident has been led by FRS working closely with partners.