Firefighter helmets melted during major incident hospital fire
Southampton General Hospital's chief executive has been speaking about the issues faced by Hampshire firefighters during an incident last month
Last updated 17 hours ago
It's emerged some firefighters' helmets started melting and the soles of their shoes stuck to the floor during a recent fire which was declared a major incident.
Southampton General Hospital's chief executive has spoken about the challenges crews faced battling flames and smoke last month.
No one was injured, but the hospital's endoscopy unit was badly damaged.
University Hospital Southampton chief executive David French said members of the fire service described the blaze as the most challenging environment they had experienced.
While no one was hurt by the fire on Sunday, February 1, Mr French said the hospital came very close to the incident causing injuries and possible deaths.
He told a trust board meeting on Tuesday, March 10, this was only avoided through staff, security contractors and firefighters repeatedly going into areas filled with smoke to get patients out of the building.
The 502 patients evacuated within 40 minutes of the fire breaking out in the early hours was equivalent in size to an entire district hospital.
Summarising the response to the fire, he said: “It was a tragic day for the hospital but, maybe, in our history it was the greatest achievement we ever had.”
The chief executive added: “This was one of the most significant fires in the history of the NHS.”
Describing the intensity of the blaze, Mr French said: “There are stories of the fire officers’ helmets melting, soles of shoes melting and sticking to the floor.”
The fire in the west wing, which was caused by an electrical fault, destroyed the endoscopy unit and left the hospital without out 200 beds.
More than five weeks on and the hospital is still down 137 beds.
Some of these are due to become available in the coming weeks, alongside mobile endoscopy units, but around 80 beds will not return until damaged areas are repaired.
Mr French said: “Realistically we have got a period of about six months whilst we are without a significant number of beds.”
He told the board the trust had to consider whether it would build back with the same number of beds and same number of endoscopy rooms or take a different approach.
Andy Hyett, chief operating officer, said the ongoing impact of the fire, which resulted in a nine-day major incident, included still having hospital wards relocated to different parts of the site.
Mr Hyett said: “We have a pretty inefficient running hospital due to all of the our mitigations.”
Mr French said talks were taking place on how to recognise the response to the fire, such as through a ceremony, medal or some form of event.
In response to the comments a Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said:
"The personal protective equipment our firefighters are kitted out with is designed to offer thermal protection and keep them safe whilst experiencing extremely high temperatures.
"The safety of our crews is always a priority, and decisions to enter a building fire will always be made on a risk to life basis.
"We have procedures in place to ensure our firefighters aren't committed into risk areas where the dangers exceed the protective capabilities of their PPE.
"We have no formal record of any defects or failings with our PPE following this incident."