§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the military fire-fighting apparatus available to fight fires in Port Stanley before Monday 9 April.
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§ Mr. LeeAll locations in the Port Stanley area for which the MOD is responsible are routinely fitted with fire extinguishers and all have fire alarms and fire piquets. The major military fire fighting appliances in the area are
Two fire hydrants at the King Edward military hospital and four fire tenders at the Port Stanley airfield.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he had to build a hospital for service men in the Falkland Islands before the fire at Port Stanley hospital.
§ Mr. LeeAlthough a medical reception station is to be built as part of the new Mount Pleasant airfield complex, there were never any plans to build a military hospital as such. We had, however, been considering what facilities should be added to the King Edward memorial hospital at Port Stanley to provide hospital cover for service men in the Falklands.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the official reports he has received warning of fire hazards and overcrowding in the Port Stanley hospital, giving dates and sources of origin.
§ Mr. LeeWe are aware that the King Edward memorial hospital was in need of a number of improvements but fire precautions in it is a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence what circumstances led him to order the evacuation of 20 soldiers billetted in the hospital attic of the Port Stanley hospital.
§ Mr. LeeFollowing the Falklands war, there was a severe shortage of accommodation of all kinds. Initially, some military duty medical staff were billetted in the hospital attic at Port Stanley; but this temporary and unsatisfactory arrangement was terminated when alternative accommodation for them was found.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence when he installed fire doors and emergency exits in the military wing of the Port Stanley hospital; and what consideration was given to such installations in the civilian wing.
§ Mr. LeeFire doors and emergency exits were installed as part of the construction of the military annex to the King Edward memorial hospital opened in February 1984. Fire precautions in the hospital as a whole are a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.