Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue were called to a kitchen fire in the Brayford Quays residential complex, at midday on Tuesday, October 20th.
Nick Davis, group manager at the Fire Service, said that the accident resulted in “quite a serious fire, which caused quite a lot of damage,” but the full extent of the damage is currently not known.
Mr Davis said that the fire was caused by a chip pan being accidentally switched on, when a student turned on the wrong hob. He advises that in the future, students should make sure the fire doors are shut and not wedged open, in order to contain any possible fire.
Listen to Nick Davis, group manager at the Lincs Fire Service:
Four fire engines went to the fire, two from Lincoln, one from Waddington, and one from Hykeham. The entire building was evacuated, but there were no injuries or casualties reported.
Callum Cassidy, a third year journalism student at the University of Lincoln, said “The fire was in my block two floors below me but there is no noticeable damage from outside. Just a pile of burnt kitchen items such as cupboards and worktops (see picture above) as well as a melted kettle in the doorway. We are allowed back in the building as normal now and all the facilities are working fine.”
— Daniel Ionescu and Harry Lincoln contributed to this report.
I was in my room in the block at the back when the incident occured and I heard the alarm go off and there was noise from the car park. I looked and saw the Fire engine but didnt think too much of it as they are called here quite often for false alarms.
However, when I looked closer there were girls crying and the hoses were out. I couldnt see the other 3 Fire Engines as they were at the front.
There were a lot of students coming back from lectures at the point of the fire and having to wait outside until all was clear. The Firemen did a fantastic job and it didnt take them long to get everyone back into their flats.
But it just shows how very lucky everyone was and how dangerous it is to wedge your kitchen door open. A lesson for us all it seems.