FIREFIGHTERS had to break into a house with smoke pouring from the windows after the homeowner went out and locked the door with a pan left on a cooking hob.

A neighbour in Frys Hill, Greater Leys, called the fire service at 2.30pm yesterday after hearing the smoke alarm going off then seeing the clouds billowing from the house.

When the crews arrived they said they were faced with smoke pouring from both the front door and a first floor window.

Oxford Mail:

Frys Hill, Greater Leys. Picture: Google Maps

With the house all locked up, the firefighters forced entry into the property using breaking in equipment, and entered wearing breathing apparatus and carrying a hose reel jet to extinguish the fire.

The crew quickly discovered that the fire was in the kitchen, and had started due to a pan being left unattended on the hob.

The fire was extinguished and the property was cleared of smoke using a positive pressure ventilation fan.

Oxford Mail:

Frys Hill, Greater Leys. Picture: Google Maps

Incident commander, crew manager Dan Shepherd, said: "On arrival we were faced with a fire in an unknown location and potentially with people still inside the property, so it was imperative that our crews entered the building as quickly as possible to stop the fire growth and check for any casualties.

"Thankfully no one was inside the building and due to the quick actions of a neighbour who heard the smoke alarms in the house activating, called us really quickly, so we were able to get into the property before too much damage could be done, and my fire crews managed to extinguish the fire whilst it was still in the kitchen."