Kitchen fire MAYHEM in Solent Halls

For once the fire alarm went off for a reason.


Students in Solent’s Chantry Halls had their pre-drinks rudely interrupted at around 8.30pm last night after a fire started in a kitchen on the fifth floor, and rapidly spread.

An efficient response from Southampton’s fire crews meant the fire was nipped in the bud within a couple of hours – but the threat was severe enough to requre 30 firefighters complete with breathing apparatus, large fans for dispersing the smoke and even an aerial ladder platform. This clearly wasn’t just a case of an idiot fresher burning their toast.

Chantry Halls before the fire.

Luckily, the 208 bedrooms in the building were swiftly evacuated and nobody was injured. Solent University now has the problem of temporarily rehousing those affected. For the rest of us this should serve as a reminder that a fire alarm isn’t always a drill.