Oven catches alight in flats in Windsor

Four fire engines were called out to a fire in a block of flats in Windsor this afternoon.

Neighbours noticed smoke coming from the flat on Imperial Road at around 1.30pm.

Fire crews from four different stations attended the scene - Langley, Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead.

The hefty response is because the flat was on the top floor - and firefighters in this situation must be prepared for the worst case scenario.

Thankfully the fire was reasonably small - able to be contained and left to burn itself out. Firefighters were at the flat for about 30 minutes.

The blaze started when the occupier turned on the oven with a rag soaked in chemical cleaning solutions still inside.

Maidenhead Fire Station has advised all people cleaning ovens to make sure the room is well ventilated first and to avoid mixing chemicals. This can release poisonous gases.

The station adds that when using oven cleaning chemicals, they must be cleaned out afterwards, rather than left there - and well before turning the oven on.