Helen & Douglas House hospice, a charity which provides hospice services to terminally ill children in Oxford, announced today (Thursday, June 25) there was a fire at its centre.

Helen House in Magdalen Road, suffered a ‘small fire’ on Friday, June 12, the charity said.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire ambulance service ‘critical incident’ declared

It was reportedly ‘quickly and safely extinguished’ by firefighters on the scene, and no children, families or staff were injured.

A small area of the building was directly affected by the blaze, but the power supply to the hospice has been cut off as a result.

Helen & Douglas House hospice in Oxford (Image: Contributed)

Helen House has been closed to in-patient stays for until the power can be restored and the charity is ‘confident it is safe to reopen’.

A spokesperson for Helen & Douglas House said: “We know how important Helen House is to the children and families who rely on us, and we are doing everything we can to return to our usual in-patient service as soon as possible.

“If your planned stay is affected, we will contact you directly. 

“In the meantime we have secured alternative ways to provide in-patient care at Helen & Douglas House to families who need it during this time.

“If you have any questions or concerns, please email reception@helenanddouglas.org.uk.

READ MORE: Multiple arrests as police granted enhanced powers in Oxford

“Thank you for your patience, support and understanding.

“We are immensely grateful to the emergency services and our staff for their calm, swift response, and we look forward to welcoming children and families back to Helen & Douglas House very soon. ”

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue and Helen & Douglas House have been approached for comment.

It was a record-breaking day for hot weather – Tuesday’s provisional maximum temperature of 34.3C matched the June record at Oxford’s Radcliffe Meteorological Station, first set on June 27, 1976.

Shoppers, tourists, students and office workers tried their best to stay cool but it wasn’t always easy to find some shade.

READ MORE: Red extreme heat warning extended to Friday

Yukino Ashida, from Japan, who is studying business at Oxford University’s Green Templeton College, said more people should try using umbrellas during a heatwave.

She added: “I’ve got my own shade – it’s definitely a good idea to use an umbrella in the heat when we are facing global warming.”

There was some respite from the sun’s rays in the Covered Market, where Graham MacDonald, who runs iScream gelateria, was having a busy afternoon.

Ozzy and Molly at iScream gelateria in the Covered Market (Image: Andy Ffrench)

His staff including Ozzy and Molly were kept busy serving many different flavours of gelato to customers.

“We are very busy in the afternoons serving customers – there’s a good mixture of tourists, students, regulars and passers-by,” Mr MacDonald added.

Busker Richard Christian Shama – known as Rich – stayed cool by taking his top off as he serenaded shoppers with a version of The Who’s Pinball Wizard.

Busker Rich stays cool in the heat (Image: Andy Ffrench)

And charity workers Minal Jade and Rasul Sangha from Birmingham, working for the National Deaf Children’s Society, said they were finding it difficult to stay cool.

“Staff from TG Jones gave us some water, and a woman came up and handed over some ice creams,” said Minal.

“We’re here in the heat from 9am to 7pm asking for donations – we take a 15-minute break every 30 minutes.”

Minal Jade and Rasul Sangha working for the National Deaf Children’s Society in Cornmarket (Image: Andy Ffrench)

German tourist Stephan and his friends got some cold beers in at The Plough in Cornmarket, saying it was “very hot”.

German tourists drinking beer in Oxford (Image: Andy Ffrench)

The Met Office has extended the red extreme heat warning to tomorrow (Friday, June 26), as temperatures are set to remain high across Oxfordshire.

The record-breaking June heat is expected to continue into Friday according to the forecaster, as temperatures remain at 34C.

Students Victor and Douglas with iced coffees (Image: Andy Ffrench)

This comes as the UK’s recorded its hottest June day record was broken for a third time, with highs of 36C in Surrey and Hampshire, surpassing the 1976 35C record.

The breaking of the 50-year record came as the Met Office issued a red extreme heat warning for the county and other parts of the south east of England from 9am on Wednesday, June 24, now extended until 9pm on Friday, June 26.

If temperatures reach 39C, that would make it the second hottest day in the UK on record.

If 38C is recorded, that is still in the top five days ever recorded and hotter than any day of the 20th century.

The heatwave has closed more than 100 schools across the county over the last few days, and disrupted rail services, particularly between London Paddington and Reading.

The Met Office extended a red warning for extreme heat to 9pm on Friday, June 26, as unprecedented June temperatures up to 38C continue in the ongoing heatwave.

The latest count saw 140 schools in the county fully or part closed on Thursday due to the heat warning, which poses a ‘danger to life’ even for people not usually considered vulnerable.

READ MORE: Thunderstorms as red weather warning issued for Oxfordshire

As of Thursday afternoon, a total of 13 schools have announced they will be fully shut on Friday, with 35 further schools announcing partial closures, finishing early before the hottest times of day.

Schools announce emergency closures today. (Image: Newsquest)

One of the fully closed schools is Warriner School in Bloxham, near Banbury.

Headteacher Sharon Nicholls wrote to parents, and said: “This has not been an easy decision but in order to keep our students and staff safe in the current extreme heat conditions, the school site will continue to be closed to students on Friday, June 26.

“We have just carried out a health and safety temperature check across site and some of our classrooms, at 10am, were over 35 degrees Celsius.

“This decision has been taken very much in the interests of student and staff wellbeing and safety.”

The schools which will be fully shut until Monday, June 29 are:

• Barley Hill Primary School in Thame
• Bartholemew School in Witney
• Bloxham Grove Academy in Bloxham near Banbury
• Clifton Hampden Church of England Primary School in Abingdon
• Cumnor Church of England School
• Drayton Community Primary School
• Ladygrove Park Primary School in Didcot
• Langtree School in Woodcote
• Lord Williams’s School in Thame
• Mill Lane Community Primary School in Chinnor
• The Warriner School in Bloxham
• Windmill Primary School in Headington
• Wykham Park in Banbury

The schools which will be partially open on Friday, June 29 are listed in full on the Oxfordshire County Council‘s ‘unplanned school closures’ web page.

Many are closing between 11.30am and 1pm, some after the pupils’ lunch break, in order to prevent prolonged exposure to uncomfortable temperatures in classrooms.

Not all schools will have decided on their arrangements for Friday as yet and all current information is subject to change.

READ MORE: Full list of 117 school closures in Oxfordshire TODAY

On Wednesday around 110 schools announced closure arrangements due to the weather, with that number rising to 140 on Thursday.

It comes as the record for the UK’s hottest June day was broken for a third time yesterday, with a temperature of 36°C breaking the previous record of 50 years.

The record was broken when provisional temperatures reached 36°C in Wisley, Surrey, and Gosport, Hampshire, on Wednesday, the Met Office said.