A care home had to evacuate 20 elderly residents after a fire in a boiler room spread to the roof.

Crews from four stations attended the incident at Ceder Court Care Home in Witney.

Four firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used a high pressure hose reel and thermal imaging cameras to extinguish the fire.

Nobody was injured in the incident, which is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.

Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service praised staff for their quick actions.

Crew Manager Chris Hollis from Witney Fire Station said “The swift actions of staff in evacuating the residents ensured they were safe, allowing our crews to focus immediately on extinguishing the fire.”

“This incident also highlights the benefit of ensuring that all built in fire precautionary features, such as fire doors, are properly maintained and tested, as in this case they achieved their design function of prevented fire and smoke spread, limiting the damage to a single room.”

Commercial buildings, non-domestic and multi-occupancy premises in England and Wales are already forced to undertake a 'suitable and sufficient' fire risk assessment carried out under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
While the overwhelming majority of premises do this, if the assessment is thought to have been carried out to an insufficient extent, the Responsible Person can face an unlimited fine or up to two years in prison.