Breaking: Massive fire breaks out at UoB property behind Wills Memorial Building

A major fire broke out in Bristol late this afternoon on Woodland Road.

The fire engulfed the Fry building, formerly the home of the School of Biological Sciences but scheduled to become the new university maths building this Spring.

Bristol University have confirmed all staff were accounted for and that no injuries were caused by the blaze. The fire is now under control but crews will continue to work through the night at the scene.

Wills Memorial Building appears to have been unaffected by the blaze despite the appearance of smoke.

An image from an eye witness at the scene

One eye witness who was studying in the building told The Tab: "I saw smoke coming from the top of the building and told the porter then legged it to get my notes. It looked like the left wing or the building behind."

Many students were in Wills Memorial at the time, ahead of the January exam season which is set to begin in two days time.

First years reported being able to see the fire a mile away from the top of Whiteladies Road.

Queen’s Road at the top of Park Street was closed eastbound and the Triangle was cordoned off, following the swift arrival of Avon Fire Brigade.

First year physics and philosophy student Izzy Posen told The Tab: "We were studying in the Wills Memorial Library when the alarms went off. First we thought it was a drill, but then we smelt smoke. Nobody was panicking, but we did think that the building was on fire. It took us a couple of minutes to realise that it was actually a neighbouring building that was on fire.

"I ran up the hill to find – what I was told was – the old mathematics building under construction going up in flames. There were around 6-7 fire engines working on getting some water running. They cordoned off the street and that's when I left."

Pictures from eye witnesses at the scene

Avon Fire Brigades Union tweeted: "Thoughts with crews dealing with incident in Bristol right now. Hopefully not as bad as it seems".