Residents evacuated after fire breaks out in Rootes bin

Rootes residents were evacuated yesterday evening after a bin was set alight outside Rootes H block.

The fire, which broke out at 5.40pm on Friday 5 June, set off Rootes’ fire alarms and led to students being evacuated from the building.

Warwick security officers were called to the scene and a member of the security team unsuccessfully attempted to put out the fire with an extinguisher.

According to the students present, by this point the bin was spewing a lot of smoke.

The fire brigade arrived 10 minutes after Warwick security and quickly put out the blaze. According to onlookers, firefighters had to use several bursts of water to tackle the flames.

According to one resident tutor, the fire started after a student threw away a disposable barbecue too soon after use, which caused the contents of the bin to set alight.

Reece Goodall, a Rootes resident and fire evacuee commented: “For a top uni, Warwick doesn’t half have some really thick people around – how can you be that dim?”