Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton’s smoke warning.

Following multiple false alarms, a Brighton hospital tried to reassure the public about smoke emanating from its building.

The Royal Sussex County Hospital has warned that people may see smoke from the Eastern Road facility again next week as part of a “controlled exercise”.

According to a statement from the Royal Sussex, smoke will be noticed pouring from the chimney on Thomas Kemp Tower commencing Monday, October 27, and lasting up to five days.

The Royal Sussex is keen to reassure people that the smoke visible coming from the chimney is not a fire, but rather part of a planned exercise owing to gas pipes being installed on-site, which demands running the hospital’s boilers on oil.

This comes after the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service was summoned to the hospital twice in February due to reports of smoke above the structure.

Fire crews confirmed that this was a false alarm, with smoke billowing from the chimney on Thomas Kemp Tower as a result of the same work being done.

In February, the fire department tweeted on social media to reassure homeowners that there was no fire. On February 8, a spokeswoman wrote on X:

“We are receiving enquiries this morning concerning smoke spotted at Royal Sussex County Hospital – we can reassure you that this has been investigated and there is no fire. “We had the same situation yesterday too.”

The Royal Sussex has informed the fire service about next week’s practice.

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