NEARLY 90 patients were evacuated from York Hospital today after a fire was started deliberately in one of the wards.

Fire chiefs said a male patient used a cigarette lighter to ignite cardboard bed pans and other medical supplies on two trolleys situated on a third-floor ward room within the hospital's Medical Admissions Unit (MAU).

Quick-thinking nursing staff immediately evacuated four adult patients and a three-month-old baby from the blazing room and a further 14 patients from other rooms within the unit.

The man was restrained by hospital security staff and later arrested by police officers in connection with the incident. Two hospital staff suffered slight injuries from the fire, including smoke inhalation.

Three fire crews from York and Selby arrived at the scene within minutes, at 3.50am, and two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were sent in to extinguish the blaze.

Station officer Mal Austwick, who co-ordinated the operation, said he ordered the evacuation of a further 68 patients from adjacent wards as a precaution, including eight people from the coronary care unit.

He praised the actions of nursing staff in evacuating the patients from the MAU as it quickly became engulfed in thick, black smoke.

"The smoke was very hazardous and we might have had to make a number of rescues, if it wasn't for the hospital's evacuation procedures," he said.

Mr Austwick said thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused by the blaze and stressed it could be "some time" before the unit was reopened.

York Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Jim Easton said the 18 patients from the unit were now being cared for in other areas of the hospital.

The majority of the other evacuated patients were returned to the wards not damaged by the blaze.

"The hospital is expecting to operate as normally as possible today, and all patients who are due to come in for appointments or treatments should continue to do so," Mr Easton said.

An incident room has been set up at the hospital to deal with calls from people concerned about the safety of loved ones.

Updated: 09:45 Thursday, September 16, 2004