Houses evacuated after firefighters join forces to tackle shed fire near Bicester

At about 4.40pm, firefighters from Bicester, Kidlington, Banbury and Buckingham attended Turnpike Road to reports of a large garden shed on fire.

Within minutes a crew from Bicester arrived to find a severe fire which was spreading to the rear of two domestic properties. Additional fire engines were immediately requested and firefighters tackled the fire using two water jets, a high pressure hose reel and thermal imaging cameras.

The occupants of all the houses evacuated safely and there were no injuries, but the cause of the fire is believed to have been an electrical fault.

Chris Hollis, watch manager at Bicester Fire Station, said: “Thankfully the fire was discovered very quickly and the occupier immediately dialed 999. Fires of this nature grow rapidly and the prompt actions of both the caller and firefighters ensured the damage to both houses was only external.

“A delay of even a few minutes would likely have resulted in the fire spreading inside both properties.”

Visit www.365alive.co.uk for fire safety advice.