Firefighters were called last night (September 18) to deal with a faulty mobile phone mast that had caught fire in a residential area of Banbury.
By Jack Ingham
Published 19th Sep 2024, 10:37 BST
Updated 20th Sep 2024, 09:54 BST
‘A fire engine from Banbury station was sent to deal with the fire at the junction of Queensway and Bloxham Road at approximately 10:49pm.
The fire had already burnt out when firefighters arrived at the mast, but they stayed on the scene until 1.23am (September 19) to ensure the area was safe.
A spokesperson for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue said: “A mobile phone mast appears to have suffered a fault and had fully burnt out before the fire and rescue crew arrived.
“The crew worked with police and the electricity company to make the area safe and isolate the power supply.”
The cause of the fire has been disputed by phone network Three, who suggest it was not the result of a faulty mast but caused by an arson attack.
However, they have been unable to provide evidence to back this up.
A Three spokesperson said: “We would like to thank the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service for their quick response to a fire at one our masts in Banbury last night.
“Following investigation, we believe that this was caused by an arson attack on the site. We strongly condemn dangerous attacks such as this which put people at risk and waste the time of emergency services that have to resolve them.
“Our engineers have visited the mast to check the equipment’s safety and integrity. We apologise to any customers who are experiencing issues as a result of the fire and are working to reinstate services as soon as possible.”