There is "significant water damage" across all levels of the Wellington Regional Hospital building after a fire broke out in the early morning.
Fire Emergency New Zealand told 1 NEWS an alarm at the Newtown hospital went off at 2am. The blaze was extinguished this morning, and no evacuations were needed, the fire service said.
Fire crews reported large parts of the main hospital building were “smoke-logged”.
Assistant area commander Michael Dombroski said fire services were called to the building after its sprinkler system was activated.
He said the fire came from a switchboard in the plant room on level 8 of the main hospital block, and the fire remained contained in that area.
Water from the sprinklers seeped through the levels below, with a small puddle on level 2, he said.
Dombroski said a fire specialist investigator will be sent to the hospital to investigate its cause.
Capital & Coast DHB said the cause of the fire was still being investigated, but it was thought to be electrical.
Joy Farley, the DHB's director of provider services, said the fire was mostly extinguished by the building’s automatic water sprinkler systems.
Farley said four patients had to be moved because of the leaks, and no injuries were reported.
"A team will remain on site to assess and address any further damage over the next 24 hours," she said.
"There will be some impact on the use of lifts over the next few hours, however at this time all other aspects of our operations are expected to function as per normal."
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