A SERIOUS fire ripped through a house on Tuesday night, thought to be caused by burning incense.

Firefighters from Abingdon, Oxford and Eynsham were called to the blaze at the house in Farm Road, Abingdon, at about 10.50pm.

The house was unoccupied at the time but the resident arrived home soon after to to find the first floor wrecked.

His next-door neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “My husband called the fire brigade. We heard beeping and left it a while – we though maybe it was one of the children’s toys. Then we realised it might be a smoke alarm.

“My husband had his ear up against the wall and we could hear crackling. It’s hard to explain, it was almost like the wall cavity was falling in while it was burning. We saw smoke and he called the fire brigade.

“It was awful, I’m glad we called. We knew something wasn’t right, that’s why he couldn’t get to sleep.”

She woke up their three young children and hurried them across to a neighbour’s house until firemen confirmed their house was safe a couple of hours later.

The windows and front door of the damaged house were boarded up with wood when the Oxford Mail visited yesterday morning.

A spokesman from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “This could have been a lot worse.

“Had the property not had working smoke alarms the fire would have gone undetected for a significant amount of time, resulting in even greater damage.”

He urged residents to check they have a working smoke alarm on every level.