14 children evacuated after fire breaks out in hospital

Fourteen children, including a number of babies, had to be evacuated from a paediatric unit last night after a fire broke out at one of the country’s busiest hospitals.

The fire broke out at 6.45pm in a room located over one of the hospital laboratories at University Hospital Limerick.

The laboratory is situated over the paediatric unit, which was evacuated as a precaution and 14 children were moved to other areas of the hospital. The room where the fire broke out is where all of the electrics for the unit are stored.

The hospital’s emergency department also had to be cleared for a short time, and all visitors were asked to leave the hospital.

Among those at the hospital last night was Siobhan McMahon, 22, whose baby daughter was among the patients evacuated.

Ms McMahon, who uses a wheelchair, was on the bus from Ennis travelling to visit her 10-week-old baby when she heard about the emergency.

“My partner was on the phone to the person who was with her at the time and she said ‘I have to go they are evacuating, there’s an emergency here’,” she said. “As soon as we got off the phone we could hear guards and fire engines and they passed us on the bus and it quickly became apparent where they were going and I just didn’t know what I was going to come across.

“When I got here, my 10-week-old was out here on the lawn. It was very scary, the fact she is 10 weeks old... the thought of her in a fire is just crazy.

“She’s in a regular cot but there was also babies out here in incubators, which was quite scary to see because some of them were very small.”

Also at the hospital last night was John McDonagh, who was visiting his 79-year-old father, Martin, from Ennis in Co Clare.

“My father’s not doing too good and we were told he might only have a few hours so all his family were called in today but we had to leave when the fire started because all visitors were told to go,” he said. “We hope to get back in again to see him soon,” said the father of 15.

“It was awful seeing all the children being evacuated especially the little babies in incubators.”

Martin McDonagh’s grandchildren Jim and Marguarite Keenan and James, Maria, and Caitriona McDonagh were among those forced to wait outside the hospital.

Nobody was injured in the fire and a number of units from Limerick Fire Service were at the scene supported by other units Shannon town.

A spokesman for the hospital said visitors were being asked to stay away tonight but it was hoped to have the hospital “fully functional in a number of hours”.