Over 1,000 students evacuated after fire breaks out at Birmingham Uni Guild

More than 1,000 students were evacuated after a fire broke out at the University of Birmingham’s Guild.

The incident happened on Wednesday 5th February at around 2:30am.

The students were ushered out by staff and security at the Sports Night event after a fire alarm went off throughout the Guild of Students.

Images from the incident show students gathered by the Mermaid Fountain before the event was officially called off around 3am.

The Birmingham Tab has accessed footage which shows a speaker on fire in Underground. This is thought to be the cause of the evacuation although the Guild of Students has not confirmed this as of yet.

In the five second video, someone can be heard shouting, whilst the camera zooms in on the speaker which clearly shows the fire with smoke rising up out of the speaker.

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Music can be heard still playing in a background whilst a staff members tells students to evacuate.

A witness attending the event told The Birmingham Tab that the Guild was busy, saying: “I would be very surprised if there wasn’t at least 1,000 people.”

One anonymous student who attended the club night, added: “I didn’t know what was going on. I was in Joe’s bar when the music stopped and everyone started booing. I thought maybe they were closing early but then I heard the fire alarm. It was crazy.”

What was initially thought to be a drill soon led to panic after many people reported smelling smoke in the building.

A second year student who was also at the Sports Night spoke of her concern: “We all thought it must be a drill so no one was that stressed. But when I was leaving, I smelt smoke coming from Underground and that’s when I realised it must be an actual fire.

“We asked some of the staff if they knew what was going on but they couldn’t say anything.”

This fire is not the first time a major incident has occurred at the Birmingham University’s Guild. In November 2023, a crush broke out in Underground at the highly anticipated Dick & Dom Fab night, injuring multiple students. The Guild of Students offered refunds for the tickets sold but the incident hit national news after a member of the security staff spoke out about their safety concerns.

A University of Birmingham spokesperson said: “During the Guild’s recent Sports Night which took place on 5th February 2025 we experienced a technical issue with one our speakers. As a result of this, the building, including all Sports Night attendees, were swiftly and safely evacuated by our Guild staff team.

“Ensuring the safety of our students and staff is our top priority, and we have significant health, safety, and risk assessment processes in place for all our events.

“Our team is conducting a thorough equipment inspection and is working closely with experts to implement necessary improvements for students to enjoy our popular club nights safely.”

The Birmingham Tab contacted the Guild of Students but has not yet received a response.