Bicester Village Burberry shop remains closed after fire

Shoppers were quickly evacuated on Monday morning (May 22) after a fire broke out in the roof of the Burberry store with the complex reopening around midday.

Fire crews from multiple fire stations were called to the shopping centre to tackle the blaze, with the complex reopening at around midday.

However, the Burberry store remains closed today (May 24) following the fire.

Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga and Versace which are based opposite Burberry have now reopened after they were closed yesterday (May 23).

It is believed the closures are due to yesterday’s fire and it is unknown when Burberry will reopen

The fire was extinguished using hose reel jets and ladders as well as exposing part of the roof to access the fire.

Crews came from fire stations in Bicester, Rewley Road (Oxford), Slade Park (Oxford), Deddington, Eynsham and Warwickshire.

An Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue spokesperson said: “Crews dealt with a fire in the roof of a shop.

“The fire was extinguished using hose reel jets, ladders and exposing part of the roof to access fire.

“An investigation is ongoing into the cause of the fire.”

A Bicester Village spokesman described the incident as minor and said it was fully under control.

The spokesperson said: “There was a minor incident this morning that is fully under control thanks to the prompt action of the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.” 

The shopping centre opened again for trading at around 11.36am after staff returned to shops at around 11.12am.

Shoppers were seen heading towards Bicester town centre after they were evacuated from the shopping complex.

At the time of the fire, a resident who lives nearby Bicester Village said: “It must be quite serious as normally when evacuated to the field people are back in within an hour but as they letting people and staff leave to go to town must be known it’s going to be a while.

“Lots are starting to return to the field now holding coffee cups and food from town shops.”

In 2015, a fire also broke out at the shopping complex as Carluccio’s was engulfed in flames.

The Village was evacuated as fire spread across the top floor and roof of the Italian restaurant with seven fire crews reposing to the blaze in the morning.

The roof was badly affected but the majority of the damage was external rather than internal, the Oxford Mail understood at the time.

The shopping complex was opened later that afternoon with no injuries being reported.