Fire Incidents at Isle of Man Hospitals

Summary

The requester asked for details of fire incidents at Nobles and Ramsey Cottage Hospitals over the last four years, including IOMFRS attendance and activation causes. Manx Care provided a statistical table of incidents from 2018 to 2025 but refused to provide specific details on IOMFRS attendance or activation causes, citing that the information was not held.

Key Facts

• Manx Care provided a total of 129 fire-related incidents across Nobles and Ramsey Cottage Hospitals between 2018 and 2025.
• The most frequent incident type was 'Fire Alarm Activated - Accidental/False Alarm' with 44 occurrences.
• Manx Care refused to provide details on IOMFRS attendance, advising the requester to contact the fire service directly.
• The refusal for specific details was based on Section 11(3)a of the Freedom of Information Act 2015, stating the information was not held.
• The highest number of total incidents in a single year was 30 in 2021.

Data Disclosed

• 129
• 44
• 24
• 12
• 11
• 8
• 5
• 2018
• 2019
• 2020
• 2021
• 2022
• 2023
• 2024
• 2025
• 30 September 2025
• 21 October 2025
• 4967698

Exemptions Cited

• Section 11(3)a of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Information not held)

Original Request

Dear Sir/Madam Please provide details of any fire incidents at Nobles Hospital (including Nobles Estate) and Ramsey Cottage Hospitals such as fires, Automatic Fire Alarm Activations and Unwanted Fire Signals, within the last four years (if applicable and records held), please state whether IOMFRS attended and for Fire Alarm activations, if there was a cause of activation such as a fire alarm call point activation or a smoke/heat detector activation. Many thanks

Data Tables (8)

Full Response Text

Manx Care Noble’s Hospital, Strang Braddan, Isle of Man IM4 4R (01624) 650 000

Our ref: 4967698 21 October 2025

Dear

We write further to your request, received 30 September 2025, which states:

"Dear Sir/Madam

Please provide details of any fire incidents at Nobles Hospital (including Nobles Estate) and Ramsey Cottage Hospitals such as fires, Automatic Fire Alarm Activations and Unwanted Fire Signals, within the last four years (if applicable and records held), please state whether IOMFRS attended and for Fire Alarm activations, if there was a cause of activation such as a fire alarm call point activation or a smoke/heat detector activation.

Many thanks"

Response

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 No value Total Building
Fire 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Fire - Cigarette related 1 2 6 1 0 0 2 0 0 12 Fire Alarm Activated - Accidental/ False Alarm 0 4 1 17 8 7 5 2 0 44 Fire Exit Blocked or Locked 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

Fire Intentionally Started 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 5 Fire Risk/ Hazard 2 1 9 4 2 2 4 0 0 24 Issue with Fire Evacuation Procedure 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 Issue with Fire Extinguisher/ Blanket/ Equipment 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 Problem with Sensors/ Fire Panel 0 4 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 11 Smell of Smoke - No Fire Detected 0 1 1 1 2 1 2 0 0 8 Fire –
Other 0 4 1 1 0 4 1 1 0 12 No
value 1 0 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 8 Total 5 17 23 30 18 16 15 5 0 129

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Manx Care is unable to provide the information you have requested. This is in line with section 11(3)a of the Act, as a practical refusal reason applies; namely we do not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that you have requested.

For information regarding the attendance of the IOMFRS we advise you to contact them directly for this.

Please quote the reference number 4967698 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely