Kingsdown fire caused by faulty boiler

By Ed Southgate, co-Editor in Chief

The fire which broke out in a student house in the Kingsdown estate last week has been confirmed as being caused by a faulty boiler.

A report by the Avon & Somerset Fire Service listed 'faulty leads' to the boiler as the main source of ignition, whilst the rapid spread of it was caused by the internal wiring.

The multi-occupancy flat is also confirmed to have been occupied at the time of the fire, with under five minutes passing between ignition and discovery. Avon & Somerset Fire Service were then immediately called.

A man who works at the Co-Op on St. Michael's Hill told Epigram that he thought he had smelt smoke 5-10 minutes before the fire engine arrived. He said that they responded 'quickly' after that.

There were no casualties and no other property was affected, whilst the fire and damage was limited to the floor it started on.

The call occurred at 18:28:19, and was stopped at 21:10:10. The operation was closed on October 19 at 09:24:03. The first fire engine was mobile on the scene from 18:37:57, and was available until 21:52:32.

One student told Epigram: 'A fireman came and told us to shut our windows because there is smoke everywhere', adding that 'the smoke started coming up [their] sink plug'.

Gonzalo Aguilera, a University of Bristol student who lives opposite the building where the fire broke out, told said that he 'heard glass shattering and [he] looked out the window to see fire out the back window onto the garden'.

Nine fire engines were deployed in total, with 41 crew members.

Epigram is seeking to find the landlord and/or letting agent to comment on the incident.