Fire devastates top cancer hospital

Dozens of firefighters battled the blaze as it tore across the roof and upper floors of the building in Fulham Road, central London. Two operations at the hospital, which is Europe's largest comprehensive cancer centre, had to be stopped and 79 in-patients were transferred to neighbouring hospitals for continuing care.

Out-patients were taken to the nearby church of St Paul in Onslow Square before being admitted to other hospitals or assessed on whether they could go home.

Around 800 staff were also evacuated from the site as 125 firefighters fought to tackle the blaze. Two hospital employees were taken to the nearby Chelsea and Westminster Hospital suffering smoke inhalation but were later released. A patient was also admitted to the A&E department requiring care.

The Royal Marsden's chief executive Cally Palmer said the fire started in the fourth-floor plant room. Ms Palmer said: "There was construction work adjacent, but we've no idea what the cause of the fire was at this stage."

She said the fire had got hold of the new section of the building, with "limited spread" to the historic part. Anyone concerned about patients, or who had an appointment booked on Thursday, should contact dedicated helplines for further information, she said.

The Royal Marsden's specialist teams were working from neighbouring hospitals, including the Royal Brompton, which admitted 54 patients. Ms Palmer said three patients had to be evacuated from operating theatres and the hospital's recovery area.

Martin Gore, the Royal Marsden's medical director, said: "There were two patients having surgery at the time, they have been safely taken off their anaesthetic and ventilators, they were taken to recovery and are now in a neighbouring hospital. Some of the operations were partly interrupted and there may need to be some further surgery but the patients are safe."

Patients who were evacuated said everyone remained calm as the scale of the emergency became apparent. Paul O'Byrne, a 50-year-old chartered accountant who was visiting the hospital for routine chemotherapy said: "We could see the smoke going past the window, it was really billowing past." He said the patients in his ward were kept inside for nearly an hour, but everybody was calm, making tea and chatting.

The Royal Marsden was the first hospital in the world dedicated to the study and treatment of cancer and sees more than 40,000 patients from the UK and abroad each year. Professor Ray Powles, former head of haematooncology, said valuable research material would not be lost as there is a second site in Sutton. But he said the loss of the hospital would be a "huge, huge step" back for cancer treatment.