Fire rages through disused Chester hospital building

Sep 28 2008 by Paul Mannion, Chester Chronicle

A RAGING fire swept through a disused Victorian hospital building on the site of the Countess of Chester Health Park in the early hours of Saturday morning (September 27).

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the building, owned by Morris Homes, on Liverpool Road at about 3am after debris and bedding left by homeless people was set alight.

A hazardous materials unit was sent to the site to protect officers from cancer-causing asbestos insulation in the building along with five pumps from Chester, Warrington and Ellsemere Port and an aerial platform.

A Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “Smoke was coming out of the third floor of a disused hospital building. Thermal imaging was used to search the building and officers wore chemical suits to protect them from asbestos. The whole incident was a complete success.”

No officers or public were injured in the blaze.