The A&E department of a large London hospital was forced to close after a fire broke out and destroyed a room.
Croydon University Hospital was forced to evacuate 100 patients and staff after the blaze started yesterday afternoon.
Four fire engines attended the scene in London Road, Croydon, at around 3pm.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) was able to get the fire under control by 5.07pm, and nobody was injured.
But firefighters said one ground floor unit of the hospital was ‘100% destroyed’ as a result.
While it’s understood the fire was contained in one clinic room, soot and smoke spread to other areas meaning the department is now shut for ‘extensive cleaning and safety repair’.
The A&E department remained closed until this morning, although the rest of the building had reopened.
A spokesperson for Croydon University Hospital said: ‘We’re pleased to confirm that our emergency department is once again fully open following yesterday’s fire that caused damage to a patient cubicle, with smoke and soot affecting many other areas of the department.
‘Our teams, internally supported by colleagues elsewhere in south-west London, have worked throughout the night to thoroughly clean and repair the affected areas and we were able to safely reopen our doors to the public at 9.52am to resume full patient care services as normal.
‘We would like to thank our patients and local community for all their messages of support and cooperation at this time.
‘We can also confirm that police were called shortly after yesterday’s suspected arson incident and a 53-year-old man has been detained under the Mental Health Act.’
They told Metro.co.uk yesterday: ‘We are currently managing an incident at Croydon University Hospital following a fire in our emergency department.
‘We are happy to confirm that all of our patients and staff are safe, and the fire is out.
‘However, due to the damage caused, our emergency department will remain closed temporarily. Our staff and the London Fire Brigade responded quickly to the alarm, which was raised at 2.58pm.
‘A total of 80 patients were safely evacuated from the emergency department to continue their care in other parts of the hospital, and we have discharged those patients who are well enough to go home.’
They urged people in the local community to call 111 if they needed urgent care last night or this morning, so they could be directed to their nearest services.
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