A SMALL number of students did not evacuate their Oxford accommodation when a fire broke out until firefighters told them to.

The blaze happened at around 1.30am yesterday in a shared kitchen at student halls of residence on Woodstock Road.

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Fire crews from Rewley Road station scrambled to the scene when they were called to a smoke alarm at the site. 

On arrival, the crew discovered a small fire in the kitchen caused by an unattended pan left on an electric hob.

The pan was found to have reached temperatures well over 400°C causing a small fire within the extractor fan and smoke logging throughout the floor.

Crews quickly got to work to make the area safe by ensuring flames had been extinguished, dismantling broken appliances, checking for hotspots and ventilating the area.

A 'quick and effective' response was achieved due to the early warning system and to the initial actions of the College Porter working closely with firefighters.

But Oxfordshire Fire Service said some students did not evacuate the premises immediately and has reminded people to always adhere to a building's evacuatin plan.

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Mr Appleton, a firefighter who attended the blaze, said: “Never leave cooking unattended and ensure your appliances are turned off at the end of the night.

"Thank you to those residents who evacuated immediately – this demonstrated the importance of having a working and tested fire alarm system.

"Unfortunately a small number of residents chose to ignore the fire alarm and remain in the building until encouraged to leave by the attending Firefighters. This hampers our initial efforts to account for all personnel and establish the extent of an incident.

“Always adhere to your evacuation plan and if you’re not sure what your evacuation plan is, find out. We’d also like to extend our thanks to the College Porter and University of Oxford Security Officer for their assistance in bringing this incident to a safe and swift conclusion.”

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