Firefighters in Southampton have been praised for their speedy response after a fire alarm sounded on a Southampton block of flats.

On Friday afternoon, April 26, residents of the Holyrood estate in Southampton watched as three fire engines from St Mary’s and Redbridge turned up outside St. James House on King Street.                   

The crews were not in the estate long after determining that the call out was a false alarm.

Despite the fire service not being required, residents of St James House have praised Hampshire Fire and Rescue for its speedy response.

A spokesperson for the fires service said: "Southampton firefighters were alerted to an alarm sounding at a building on King Street shortly after 2pm.

"The incident was found to have been a false alarm caused by smoking.

"Crews from St Mary’s and Redbridge left the scene following the stop message at 2.24pm."

Residents of the building have also begun to speculate on what could have caused the alarm to sound – with one stating they have witnessed teenagers smoking in the stairwell on different occasions.

An unnamed resident, who lives in St. James House, said: "I didn’t see the fire brigade here because I was out.

"A neighbour told me they thought someone might have been playing a prank because she could not smell any smoke or see anything.

"But it is good to know that they will respond quickly in an emergency."

Another resident, who also lives in the block but wanted to remain anonymous, said: "There are often a lot of teenagers around here that can cause trouble.

"I have witnessed them smoking in the stairwell before and I wonder if that could have caused the fire alarm to go off."

This comes after a particularly busy week in Southampton for Hampshire Fire and rescue, with three other fires happening in the city.

Earlier this week, on Monday, April 22, the fire service was called to Royal Crescent Road, near the Itchen Bridge after a fire was started on the site of a disused warehouse.

On Tuesday, April 23, a fire engulfed a semi-detached house on Richmond Road in Freemantle.

A day later on Wednesday, April 24, a blaze tore through two sheds in Oak Road Bursledon.