Fire crews outside Dunedin Hospital. Photo: Tim Scott
Parts of the hospital were evacuated for a time.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) crews from Dunedin, Willowbank and St Kilda responded to the alarm callout at the hospital.
There were no reports or signs of a fire, a Fenz spokesman said said.
However there was a "slight unpleasant odour" and crews were determining the cause and nature of it.
