FRESH towels and massage oil have been identified as the cause of a fire which ripped through one of the Swindon College beauty training salons last week.

Fire crews were called to the Pegasus tower in the college’s North Star campus on April 12 after reports of a blaze on the fifth floor of the six-storey building.

Investigators have discovered that it started after a batch of towels, which had been used for massage and had just been washed and tumble-dried, were stacked in the corner of the room.

Alan Harper, the group manager for the Swindon area of Wiltshire fire and rescue service, was in charge of the investigation and said unusual circumstances led to the fire.

“The cause of the fire was down to some of the oils which were used as part of the health and beauty course,” he said.

“One of the oils, grape seed oil, which is part of the massage treatment, when that is absorbed into the towels the oil itself can then go through an oxidisation process which starts to self heat.

“It is only particular oils, vegetable-based or animal fat-based. It is to do with carbon bonds. Because the towels concerned insulated it, it builds up and builds up.

“As the heat increases and oxidisation increases the heat increases and it can reach that auto-ignition point.

“They gave the process a boost by putting the towels through the tumble dryer, it gave the oils an additional level of heat which aggravated the process and that led to the towels becoming the source of the fire.”

Mr Harper said it took a lot of investigation and they had to double check the oils and the chemical process.

“All the evidence of the investigation indicates that was the cause,” he said.

“The way they were washed, heated and stored in big piles allowed that heating process to change to ignition point.”

Windows, towels, beds, light fittings, chairs and a projector were all damaged during the fire, and the college does not yet know how much they will cost to replace.

“The college is doing whatever it can to stop it happening in the future,” said Mr Harper. “It was one of those really unusual circumstances. It was not anybody’s fault. It was a bit like six processes occurring in a sequence, which had to happen to allow fire to occur.

“Washing at 40 degrees did not remove all the oil and left residue. The college is looking at changing the washing process to make it more effective.”

He said the college had also changed the oils they use.

“They have got to be careful. It is a known phenomenon within those industries. It is only a one in 1,000 chance,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Swindon College said lessons will continue as usual in the other beauty salons and the fire-hit salon will be ready for use again before the new college year starts in September.