Around 130 people were evacuated from a central London terraced house following a huge blaze.
11 people were treated for smoke inhalation and taken to hospital. Images from the scene show the top of the terraced house, converted into flats, alight as emergency services worked to tackle the fire in the early hours of this morning.
Fifteen fire engines and around 100 firefighters attended the emergency after being called at 0.31am, London Fire Brigade said. The blaze took hold on a terraced house in Emperor’s Gate in South Kensington.
The fire service used ladders to rescue several people who had been trapped in the building.
Two people were rescued by crews from a second floor flat using a 13.5 metre ladder, and one was rescued from the main floor using a short extension ladder.
Meanwhile another two people were rescued from a fourth floor flat using a turntable ladder.
A London ambulance service spokesperson said the 11 who were injured were taken to “London hospitals and major trauma centres”.
Around 15 people are understood to have escaped the building before the fire service arrived, before the entire block of flats and neighbouring properties were evacuated.
It took several hours to get the fire under control, with it finally dying down at 4.40am.
Fire crews from Kensington, Fulham, Battersea, Hammersmith, Chelsea, North Kensington and surrounding fire stations were at the scene.
Station Commander Steve Collins was at the scene, he said: “The fire spread from the ground floor to the top floor and roof of the property. Crews worked extremely hard to contain it and prevent the blaze spreading to adjacent buildings.
“Road closures are in place and likely to remain well into the morning rush hour so motorists are advised to avoid the area. However, there is no impact on rail services and they will be running as normal.”
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea posted on X: “We are aware of the situation and liaising with emergency services to offer support.”
An investigation has been launched into the cause of the fire.
