Oxford’s Kassam Stadium evacuated due to floodlight fire during clash with Wigan

Oxford’s home clash with Wigan was thrown into chaos at half-time on Sunday after the Kassam Stadium was evacuated due to a fire breaking out in the floodlights.

Footage from the scene showed those in attendance at the ground standing outside while the fire brigade arrived.

The League One game, which was originally set to be played on Saturday at 3pm before it was pushed back 24 hours due to a frozen pitch, was goalless at half-time – and the restart was heavily delayed due to the incident.

Oxford’s Kassam Stadium was evacuated after a fire broke out in the floodlights during a game

Players, officials and staff were all forced to wait outside as the fire brigade put out the blaze

Players from both teams, as well as the match officials, were also forced to evacuate.

Three fire engines were seen at the venue, which is also being used to administer coronavirus vaccinations.

The second half of the clash, which was pushed back a further hour until 4pm to allow the pitch to thaw out, eventually kicked off at around 5:45 after the blaze was brought under control and those present were allowed back inside.

Oxford’s Twitter account kept supporters updated as the scene unfolded.

‘There’s a fire in the floodlights so the second half will be delayed until the fire brigade arrive,’ the first tweet read.

They added: ‘The stadium is being evacuated. We will update you when we know more. Got to run.’ 

The fixture was forced to be played on Sunday, rather than the day before, due to a frozen pitch.

Oxford’s official Twitter account kept supporters updated on the incident on Sunday evening

Oxford boss Karl Robinson was left bemused when providing a lowdown on how the fire may have begun.

‘We were coming out at half-time and thought we could smell burning through the air vents,’ he said. ‘We were told to quickly evacuate the building.

‘The vaccinations are going on here as well so there are far more important things than football happening at the stadium.

‘There’s a leak in one of the rooms which contribute towards the floodlights, and that’s where the burning was coming from.

‘The fire brigade settled it down and cut off whatever they needed to cut off.

‘It’s just been another strange scenario that’s been put in front of us. It’s been a crazy, crazy 48 hours.’   

Robinson was seen stood outside after the evacuation and chatting to members of the fire brigade. 

The clash with Wigan was originally scheduled for Saturday but called off due to a frozen pitch