Students evacuated after fire at university hall

Dozens of students were evacuated from their halls of residence because of a fire that started in a kitchen.

More than 40 firefighters were called to the Arthur Vick 1 block at the University of Warwick campus in Coventry at about 20:40 GMT on Wednesday.

The blaze started accidentally on the second floor of a three-storey block, two flats were heavily damaged by fire and several more were smoke-logged, the West Midlands Fire Service said.

The university said all students were evacuated and no injuries were reported while those affected were helped to find alternative forms of emergency accommodation.

The fire has been extinguished, a university spokesperson said.

They stated all students were safe and wellbeing services were providing support.

Firefighters were supported by drone operators, the fire service said.

Two fire engines remained at the site overnight "on a watching brief" and the final crew left at 07:15 GMT.

The service said with the blaze confirmed to have started in a kitchen, "we wanted to issue a fresh reminder about cooking safety, particularly to students".

This included making sure "you don't get distracted when you're cooking" and "take pans off the heat, or turn the heat down, if you need to leave the kitchen".

Robert Ward, a student at the university in a different building, said he went to look after seeing two fire engines.

Mr Ward added that when he arrived, the roof was on fire and "about 40, 50 people" were there.

"I could see the water jets coming out of the top of the building. But yes everyone was being kept well back, but the blaze was quite violent at that point.

"At one point.... some of the roof [was] collapsing on itself."

Asked about the mood, the student replied that there was confusion as "everyone didn't really know what to do, we were just kind of standing around watching."