A large fire broke out in a bicycle shop on Cowley Road last Sunday, requiring about seventy firefighters to restore the area to safety.
The fire, which is not being treated as suspicious, started at 07.30 at the three-storey Cycle King bicycle shop and was spotted by a police patrol car.
Nobody was injured and the police, ambulance and Red Cross helped evacuate residents in neighbouring properties.
An Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman explained, “Crews were initially faced with a rapidly developing fire with people believed to be trapped in the floors above, this fortunately was not the case.
“Firefighters had to fight the fire in arduous, difficult and very hot conditions working hard to prevent the fire spreading to neighbouring properties.
“Crews searched the building and with the use of specialist appliances, the rescue tender and hydraulic platform managed to contain the fire to cycle shop.”
Cowley Road was closed by the police for the whole of Sunday and was reopened again on Monday.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is to be carried out by a Senior Fire Investigator although it is not believed to be arson.
A spokesperson for Cycle King told Cherwell about the temporary future of the Oxford branch, saying, “We are currently in negotiations with a number of local property owners to secure premises for the temporary relocation of our store while rebuilding works take place at Cowley Road, hopefully we will secure a location within a short distance of the Cowley Road store.
“Cycle King has been serving the people of Oxford for 30 years and we are devastated that we are unable to continue this service at this moment.”
The bicycle store owners told Cherwell that the shop will reopen shortly.
