Small fire at Victoria Jubilee Hospital

Elective surgeries have been suspended at Victoria Jubilee Maternity Hospital in Kingston after a "small fire" was started near an operating theatre early Friday morning. 

There were no injuries, according to Wentworth Charles, chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority, the body that oversees the hospital. 

He says the fire started about 3 a.m. in a room used by nurses near the operating theatre, on the second floor of a building. The maintenance team confined the blaze to the room.

"There was a lot of smoke so we had to evacuate our staff to alternative locations. The fire was put out. The fire brigade was called, they came and they carried out their own inspection," he told The Star. 

He says elective surgeries have been suspended for the day and efforts are under way to have normality return by Saturday. 

Emergency surgeries are being accommodated at a second operating theatre, while some activities are being done at the Kingston Public Hospital, Charles says. The hospitals share the same property. 

Charles says the fire officials are conducting assessments to determine the cause of the fire. 

We want to hear from you! Email us at star@gleanerjm.com and follow @thejamaicastar on Instagram and on X @JamaicaStar and on Facebook: @TheJamaicaStar.