Northern General Hospital Sheffield: Six fire engines sent to hospital over smoke fears

But it was soon established that a faulty lift was to blame for the smoke, and a false alarm was declared.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said it was called to the Northern General Hospital on Herries Road yesterday, Thursday, February 9, at around 3.53pm.

A spokesperson added: “As per procedure, six fire engines and a turntable ladder were mobilised. However, upon arrival it turned out to be a false alarm. They left shortly after. What it turned out to be was an overheating lift motor that had put out some smoke.”

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue responded after a video surfaced online showing a row of fire engines pulling up at the hospital with their lights flashing. As the service explained, it is standard procedure to send that number of vehicles to any incident at the hospital, and it only became apparent once there that it was a false alarm.