FI_MarsdenHospFire

January 2, 2008
At 08:47 EST of 2 January 2008, NC4 received breaking news from private subscription sources about a 1-alarm fire at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London. NC4 alerted clients to the fire less than half an hour after it broke out. Within the ensuing half hour, the response had increased to two alarms and NC4 provided customers with government confirmation from the London Fire Brigades. As the fire grew in strength, analysts combined information from existing sources with media outlets, including the BBC, to report on the eventual 4-alarm fire that badly damaged select operating and recovery areas of the world-renown cancer facility. At the height of the blaze, over 75 firefighters working on containing the blaze and the hospital was completely evacuated. Since some patients were undergoing surgery at the time, area traffic was disrupted as officials rushed these patients to other facilities. Local roads were closed for the duration of firefighting efforts.

Selected Updates

NC4 Incident Monitoring Center issued the following alerts:

Firefighters responding to fire at Royal Marsden Hospital. 1/2/2008 08:47 EST
Firefighters have doubled their response to the fire at hospital. 1/2/2008 09:04 EST

Top floor of hospital is alight; firefighters evacuating patients. 1/2/2008 09:18 EST

Local streets closed due to fire; no reports of casualties. 1/2/2008 10:54 EST
Minor injuries reported as fire destroys part of Royal Marsden Hospital.
1/2/2008 19:02 EST

Part of hospital reopened following fire. Incident closed. 1/3/2008 10:07 EST

Additional Resources
NC4 provides ongoing updates to members as the incident unfolds through the NC4 Incident Monitoring Center (NIMC). NIMC analysts follow the incident using official government sources as well as national and local media sources -- linking to the BBC breaking news article, “Fire forces hospital's evacuation”, including images from the scene, eyewitness accounts, and situational reports.

One-page printable summary with graphics