Westwood kitchen catches fire

A kitchen on the second floor of the Hampton block, Westwood campus, caught fire due to a faulty toaster, just under two weeks ago.

The fire, which had come to prominence through Yik Yak (the popular social media application used by the University’s students) set off the alarm at about 5am, with fire engines quickly reporting to the scene, and taking about 45 minutes to put the fire out.

This was one of the worst incidents to happen within student’s campus accommodation this academic year, and certainly the first fire in an accommodation in 2016.

The fire had started due to a problematic toaster, moved from its original position in the kitchen, not automatically turning off when the switch was turned off after a student had made some toast.

One of the students who had been affected by the incident spoke to us.

Sriram Shriananda, a Biomedical Sciences first-year living in Westwood, said that the fire had engulfed the cupboard above the toaster, as well as both neighbouring cupboards, including his, leaving his food and utensils useless.

He commented: “Not all was lost, as the University compensated the affected students with £75 of top-up on their Warwick food cards, entitling us to discounted meals across campus’ various cafes.”

Now, throughout the block, there are posters of the damage and a warning sign in each kitchen to avoid a repeat of the accident.

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