Safety fears have been expressed over householders not leaving their flats during a fire on the back of multiple false alarms. 

Firefighters were called to the flats at Alice & Margaret House in Desborough Crescent in the Rose Hill area of Oxford at around 6pm on Friday. 

It is understood a kitchen in the block of flats has been gutted by the flames but no one has been injured as a result of the fire. 

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An ambulance was on standby while the firefighters were in attendance but it was not required to take anyone to hospital.

One occupant who lives in the flats has raised concern over people not evacuating during the fire - with some people even stood on their balconies during the blaze. 

Green Square Accord, which manages the building, has a 'stay put' policy in place.

The company's website states: "This is by far the safest place for you to be. The block you live in was built to contain a fire inside a flat for at least an hour – giving the fire service plenty of time to arrive and deal with it before it spreads.

"Large numbers of people trying to leave at the same time can cause serious risks to people who live in the block and the firefighters tackling a blaze."

Alternative accommodation is being provided for residents while work takes place to repair the damage from the kitchen fire.

Oxford Mail: A fire broke out in Rose Hill on Friday eveningA householder, who did not wish to be named, said fire alarms have begun to be ignored as a result of multiple false alarms.

He said: "The block that I live in is also managed by Green Square Accord overlooking Alice & Margaret House.

"We’ve had multiple incidents of false alarms due to faulty smoke alarms and most of my neighbours ignore the alarm, which causes us great concern.

"The last false alarm was Wednesday. Unfortunately people only tend to listen when there has been a fire. Grenfell is a prime example."

He said the firefighters were at the scene until around 7.30pm after the kitchen fire. 

The homeowner continued: "There are clearly more flats than there were people on the street.

"There may be a stay-put rule in place but that is not something Green Square Accord who manage the building have communicated to me." 

Some residents were left standing in the car park for the flats - including one woman stood in her dressing gown. 

An eyewitness said he leant the woman his hoodie so she did not get cold while waiting around. 

Oxford Mail: A fire broke out in Rose Hill on Friday evening

Sharon Hayes, who also lives in the flats, said: "Green Square has got a lot to answer for. Maybe they should check all alarms are working on the flats as they were not tonight." 

A spokesman for Green Square Accord said: “We can confirm that a fire broke out in a flat at Alice and Margaret House on Friday, February 16.

"Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze quickly and it was contained to the kitchen in the property.

"Our colleagues were on the scene that evening to assess the damage and support the customer. We will continue to provide support as we fix the damage to their home, and we are offering them alternative accommodation while this takes place.

“The evacuation strategy for Alice and Margaret House, is stay put. This means we advise customers to stay in their home unless fire or smoke is affecting them.

"This is because the block was built to contain fires within flats for at least an hour, giving the fire service plenty of time to deal with it. In this instance the building performed exactly as it should and the fire was contained.

"Because the building has a stay put policy, there is a detection system within flats linked to a warden call system, and a communal system configured to support the stay put evacuation strategy.

"This is standard practice for buildings with a stay put policy and this buildings occupancy and is covered in the fire risk assessment, undertaken by our accredited external fire risk assessors.

"We work in partnership with Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, as our Primary Authority Partners.

"The fire evacuation policy for the building is clearly displayed in the building. We will be writing to all customers in the coming weeks to remind them what they should do in the event of a fire.”