7:27pm Thursday 9th September 2010
Exclusive By David Lindsell
Kingston College has been evacuated this evening after a fire broke out near a classroom on the third floor of the three-storey annex of the main Kingston Hall Road tower block.
Four fire engines were scrambled to the campus after receiving an emergency call at 6.09pm.
About 100 people were evacuated within about five minutes of the alarm being raised, firefighters said.
Sources at the college said they thought an electrical fault, possibly in a projector, started the fire.
College staff are waiting for advice from firefighters tonight, as to whether or not it can open tomorrow, after ventilation ducts sucked smoke-filled air from the annex into the main building. Staff and students will be informed by email tonight about whether or not to go in.
An eyewitness on his way home from working in Kingston town centre said: "I saw two or three fire engines bombing it past. Suddenly they stopped and waved people on.
"There was a serious smell of rubber, I didn't see any flames, but there was a definite burning smell."
The people being evacuated were mature students or office staff, he said.
A spokesman for London Fire Brigade confirmed that there were four fire engines at the campus using high-rise equipment.
She said that the fire covered a small area and had damaged 50 per cent of a third-floor classroom.
The fire has now been extinguished, engines are packing up and the fire investigation team is at the scene.
Were you evacuated? Do you know what caused the fire? Leave a comment below or contact the newsdesk by emailing dlindsell@london.newsquest.co.uk
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