About 400 cars stuck in fire-hit hospital car park

More than 400 cars are trapped in a hospital car park after a large fire broke out.

About 60 firefighters tackled the blaze that severely affected about 12 vehicles in Car Park 1 at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge on Saturday evening.

The car park has since been closed off and its operator has told customers they must wait to be contacted and will be escorted by staff to retrieve vehicles.

One woman, who has been visiting her daughter in hospital following a road crash, said she cried after being told she could not access her car.

National Car Parks (NCP), which manages the car park, and Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) NHS Foundation Trust, said people should not go to the car park until they had been contacted.

No-one was believed to be injured in the fire and the car park remained closed.

"We know how hard this situation is for those visiting loved ones and for staff trying to get to work," a spokesperson for the trust said earlier.

"We are sorry for the disruption and thank you for your patience and support."

NCP said cars could be retrieved "once customers have received a call and agreed a time slot for collection".

CUH said on its website: "If you have not shared your details with either NCP or CUH, please call 0345 050 7080 to register with the NCP team.

"NCP will also be able to confirm whether a vehicle remains unable to be moved as a result of the fire."

Luarina Raven, from Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, has been visiting her daughter at Addenbrooke's since 9 November after she was involved in a car accident which broke her neck in two places.

She said she cried when she discovered she could not access her vehicle in Car Park 1.

"Not only have I not got my car, I've not got my blue badge to use in somebody else's car on top of everything else I'm dealing with right now," she explained.

"It's my daughter's 21st birthday, she's lying in a bed, she can't move, and then I get told the car park's shut."

Ms Raven said the experience was "pretty stressful" and she had not been contacted by anyone about her car.

Ben Fawcitt, the group commander at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, said about 12 cars were "severely involved" and other vehicles had suffered smoke damage.

The cause of the fire was not yet known but he said an investigation team was using CCTV to help determine that.

When crews arrived, Mr Fawcitt said: "There were flames coming out of the second storey and the anticipation was that we had the potential to lose the building."

The fire service asked for a structural engineer to examine the scene.

"We will always put public safety first and we apologise for any inconvenience caused because we understand people are in hospital for a reason and having this greater burden on them is not ideal," added Mr Fawcitt.

CUH asked patients and visitors to use the Trumpington or Babraham Road park and rides "where possible".

It said two additional Stagecoach buses were running from the Trumpington site.

But it said Car Parks 2 and 6 would be prioritised for patients and visitors, and if required, they could be picked up and taken to the main entrance by a courtesy bus.

Royal Papworth Hospital, which is situated on the same site as Addenbrooke's, said it had asked staff to work from home if they could.

NCP added: "We are working to be able to reopen the car park as soon as possible, and we offer our sincere apologies for the inconvenience that this situation has caused for all our customers.

"We remain extremely grateful to the emergency services for their immediate and fast response on the night."

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