Firefighters were called to Esher College after a bench was set on fire in the college grounds.
The alarm was raised at 1.50pm on Friday, February 15, when firefighters saw thick fumes of smoke from Hampton Court Way.
On arrival, firefighters saw lots of students gathered around a bench which was burning vigorously.
Firefighters noticed there objects stuck to many of the benches, and believed something had been set alight for “a bit of a laugh”.
Paul Crowther, blue watch manager at Esher fire station, said they found three deodorant cans and a couple of lighters at the scene.
Mr Crowther said: “What might have happened was someone messing around with the deodorant and it got a bit out of control and the canister then exploded.”
He urged young people to watch a video on YouTube of a WD40 can exploding, to show how dangerous it can be to set fire to compressed canisters.
He said: “They are pressurised cans and these three cans opened up like you would take a jacket off.”
Nobody was hurt at the scene and Firefighter Crowther praised Esher College for positioning and bolting down their picnic tables away from the main building.
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