Fire forces hospital's evacuation

Patients and staff were forced to flee onto the streets as a major fire swept through a leading cancer hospital.

The fire broke out at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, west London, at 1320 GMT but is now under control.

Much of the roof was destroyed and a number of operating theatres were badly damaged by the blaze, which was tackled by up to 125 firefighters.

Three people were injured - two hospital employees, who suffered from smoke inhalation, and one patient.

The hospital said two patients were having surgery at the time of the evacuation but were safely taken off their anaesthetic and ventilators and are now recovering at a neighbouring hospital.

Royal Marsden NHS Trust chief executive Cally Palmer said the cause of the fire, which broke out in a fourth floor plant room, was unknown.

Construction work had been taking place in an adjacent room at the time of the blaze, she added.

A "large proportion" of the hospital's five operating theatres and two wards had been badly affected, she said, which has "compromised" its ability to perform operations.

"The most important thing is that all patients and staff have been evacuated safely, and our patients are being cared for in neighbouring hospitals by our specialist teams," said Ms Palmer.

"We're hoping that wards, outpatient areas and some of the other areas can be used from tomorrow onwards, but clearly we need to assess that with the fire brigade."

About 800 staff and 79 patients - plus a similar number of out patients - were moved to safety from the facility, which is a world-class specialist cancer hospital.

After the fire broke out several patients were laid on mattresses in a nearby street and others were led away wrapped in blankets.

Many were taken to St Paul's Church in Onslow Square while others were transferred to the Royal Brompton Hospital and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital treated the three casualties. The two hospital employees were later released while the patient remains in its accident and emergency department.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said it had treated the fire as a "very serious" incident.

The LFB said there were no patients in the area where the fire started but it had spread and forced the evacuation. It said an investigation into the fire would begin immediately.

Ten ambulances, five officers, a hazardous area response team and a fast response car were sent to the scene by the London Ambulance Service.

Dr Aled Jones, a surgical doctor, was evacuated from the hospital during a break between operations.

"We did think it could have been a false alarm, but the message spread quickly around the hospital and we could smell the smoke," he said.

Fire crews at hospital fire

Dr Jones added: "It was surreal. It didn't feel like it was really happening."

He said emergency procedures would go ahead under the hospital's contingency plans.

Professor Ray Powles, former head of haematooncology at the Royal Marsden, said the loss of the hospital would be a "huge step back" for cancer treatment.

He said: "It's unbelievable what would happen if it burned down. It would be a huge, huge step back for all the patients being treated there, and a huge, huge step back for cancer."

But he said valuable research material would not be lost as there was a second site in Sutton.

Both Fulham Road and Sydney Street have been closed and crowds have gathered at the perimeter to watch the scene.

Patients in pub

Patient Jason Boas was awaiting treatment at the hospital when the fire broke out.

He told the BBC News website: "All the patients and staff did not panic, and left in an orderly fashion. The staff were quite fantastic, and there was no fear whatsoever.

"We were evacuated and I had my canular taken out in a local pub by one of the wonderful nurses. We were then sent home, and hopefully tomorrow I will go back to the hospital for treatment."

The Royal Marsden was the first hospital in the world dedicated to cancer treatment and research into the causes of the disease.

With its academic partner The Institute of Cancer Research, it forms the largest comprehensive cancer centre in Europe, seeing more than 40,000 patients from the UK and abroad each year.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone described the fire as "a terrible incident".

"While the distress to patients being evacuated cannot be underestimated, it is a great tribute to the staff and the emergency services that the evacuation of the entire hospital was done safely," he said.

"I began my working career at the Royal Marsden Hospital and experienced first hand the hard work that that is done to tackle cancer."