A fire has started in Clarins Skin Spa on St Andrew’s Street.

Students at Emmanuel College reported hearing sirens from around midnight. According to the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue service, crews were called out at 00.17 a.m. 

At this time, an eyewitness said, smoke was visible in Clarins Skin Spa but the location of its source was still unclear. The windows of Clarins were also thick with condensation.

The Fire and Rescue Service later clarified that the fire was contained to a room within Clarins, but set off a sprinkler system in John Lewis, necessitating “a salvage operation to remove stock from the basement of John Lewis to prevent it from being damaged by water.”

Two fire engines arrived at around 1 a.m., and a third at around quarter to two. An emergency services car was also present from at least half past one.

The fire service cordoned off an area extending several metres to either side of the shop, which lies between John Lewis and the cosmetics shop Smashbox.

Several firefighters were sent into the shop and into the John Lewis entrance on its immediate left, where they could be seen in its upper windows. More firefighters were visible amidst what appeared to be smoke in the back of Clarins.

The Fire and Rescue Service said that the firefighters used hose reels and a positive pressure ventilation fan to clear the smoke.

By 2.20 a.m., the firefighters appeared to be packing up the hoses. According to the Fire and Rescue Service, crews had all returned to their stations by 4.50 a.m.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service told Varsity that the fire was “accidental, caused by an electrical fault.”

St Andrew’s Street is home to three Cambridge Colleges – Emmanuel, Christ’s and Downing – and is also close to the Downing Site