The landlord of the Royal Oak pub in Marlow has thanked her quick-thinking staff following Sunday's fire. 

More than 40 firefighters from across the South East put out a huge blaze at the Frieth Road pub yesterday evening (September 15) at approximately 8pm.

There were no reported injuries, but one woman was given oxygen following the effects of breathing in smoke.

However, after receiving treatment at the scene, she did not go to hospital to be assessed. 

READ MORE: Woman treated in Marlow's Royal Oak pub fire

Becky Salisbury, who owns the pub with her husband David, told the Bucks Free Press: “We had a full house when the fire started, and there were people just about to eat their food.

“But when we found out that there was a fire, the team did a fantastic job in getting all the customers of out the pub in time.

“We do our fire practices and all our other emergency training, so every member of our staff knew what they were doing when the fire took place.

“After the fire brigade were called, everyone evacuated the pub and our team did a great job in helping those leave the premises, as they are trained to make sure that they are not to put themselves or others in danger.

“They did a brilliant job.”

Mr and Mrs Salisbury have owned the pub since May 2000 and revealed to the BFP that in the 19 years they’ve had the Royal Oak in their name, they have never experienced an incident of this nature.

An investigation is currently being carried out by the fire brigade to see what caused the blaze, but unconfirmed reports suggest that the pub’s tumble dryer caught alight.

This is not a definitive conclusion. 

Becky then added: “The fire means it’ll be a good few months before we are open again, but hopefully we will be back with our existing team.

“We will look after them in the meantime and when we reopen, we will be bigger and better than before.

"In times like these, you've got to be positive."

Following the immediate aftermath of the fire, the pub posted a statement on Facebook.

They said: “So, by now many of you will have heard about the awful fire we had earlier this evening.

“First up and most importantly, nobody was hurt, we are all well and the fire appears to be out.

“The fabulous chaps from the fire brigade are still damping down and we cannot thank them enough for everything they have done tonight.

“We are absolutely gutted to see our beautiful pub in such bad shape, but it is the people that make this such a wonderful institution: our amazing staff and you, our loyal customers and with your support we will prevail.

“It will be some time before we can open our doors again, but we will know more over the coming days.

“Thank you so much for all the kind words and lovely messages we have received.

“It has really helped ease what has been a very difficult few hours.

“We will of course keep you posted on our progress, so do keep a look out for news.”