GP practice in Carleton closed after fire

Four fire engines were called to the Carleton Practice in Poulton PIC: Gordon Forrest

Four engines from across the Fylde were called out at around 8.20am on Tuesday, after an alarm sounded at the Carleton practice in Castle Gardens Crescent.

Passers by reported seeing smoke billowing out of the surgery with several fire engines crowded outside the surgery.

It is understood that the practice was not open at the time of the fire and only two members of staff were evacuated from the premises.

A spokesman for the fire service said: "On arrival the building had already been evacuated. The building was heavily smoke logged.

"We sent in four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus who used a hose reel to extinguish the fire.

"We used our fans to clear the smoke from the property.

"The fire seems to have started around a printer, although we are still investigating the cause.

"The building has suffered smoke damage but thankfully nobody was injured."

Dr Tony Naughton speaking on behalf of the practice has said that it is expected to remain closed over the next few weeks while work is carried out to repair the damage.

The senior partner at The Thornton Practice, said: “The fire service was called to a fire at our Carleton branch.

“No one has been hurt and no patient records have been affected.

“All staff at Carleton have been relocated to our Thornton branch. Patients with appointments in Carleton in the next few days will be contacted and offered appointments in Thornton. All phone lines have been diverted to Thornton and will be answered as normal.

“We would like to thank all our patients for their understanding and will provide further updates once the extent of any damage is fully understood. We are working hard to minimise disruption and inconvenience to patients, however, it is likely that the Carleton branch will be unusable for the coming weeks and all services will be provided from the Thornton branch.”

Crews remained at the scene for around two-and-a half hours.