A fire in the Scott Building on the campus of the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore on Monday evening resulted in the evacuation of a small number of patients and HSE staff.

Patients and staff evacuated after fire at Tullamore Hospital

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A fire which broke out in a section of the old Tullamore Hospital resulted in the short-term evacuation of eight patients and a number of HSE staff as a precautionary measure on Monday of this week.

The HSE confirmed that the staff and eight patients were evacuated from the Midland Regional Hospital "for a short time in line with hospital fire safety policies" following a fire alert in the Scott Building, which is located in the old Tullamore hospital on the same campus as the new hospital building.

"We can confirm that the Fire Service was called to the Midland Regional Hospital (MRHT) on Monday,, May 20, at 17.39pm following smoke being present in an area in the old part of the hospital. The fire services responded and as a precautionary measure staff and eight patients were evacuated for a short time in line with hospital fire safety policies. There was no significant damage to the hospital building or any injuries as a result" said the HSE statement.

The fire, which broke out was in the communications room of the old Scott building, which is located on the same campus as the new Midlands Regional Hospital on the Arden Road.

Offaly Fire and Rescue Service confiirmed in a statement that its members responded to “a fire alarm activation” at the Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore at approximately 17.49pm on Monday evening last. “Units from Tullamore and Clara attended the scene. Malfunctioning electrical equipment in a coms room had caused smoke to emit and extend to adjoining corridors. The fire service used positive pressure ventilation fans to remove smoke and make the area safe” the statement added.

The Scott Building is the old hospital building at the Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore. The four story building is located to the right hand side of the new Hospital campus which was designed by Michael Scott in 1938 and is a listed structure. It was vacated in 2009 when the final transfer of services to the new Hospital Building was completed but has since undergone a major refurbishment project and now houses a number of facilities, including mental health services, a centre for education, library, on-call accommodation and administrative offices. The refurbished building was officially opened by then-Minister for Health, Simon Harris in January 2017.

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