Huge blaze breaks out at restaurant in London’s Chinatown
Firefighters rush to contain inferno that threatened a five-storey building in Soho and spread to neighbouring buildings
CENTRAL London was covered in smoke this afternoon as a blaze ripped across Chinatown after a restaurant caught fire.
Thick black smoke filled the streets of Soho after the fire broke out above Wan Chai Corner on Gerrard Street and Gerrard Place.
Firefighters from the station next door were understandably quick to arrive at the scene.
Despite their best efforts however, the roof of the five-storey building and its basement kitchen were badly damaged.
London Fire Brigade said: “Six fire engines and 35 firefighters and officers have been called to a fire in a restaurant on Gerrard Street in Soho.
“The fire is affecting part of the basement kitchen, the restaurant’s ducting – its extraction system – between the ground floor and the roof and part of the building’s roof.”
Experts have launched an investigation into the blaze, though there are no reports of injury.
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10 people evacuated the building before emergency services arrived at the scene.
Speaking on the incident, station manager Lisa Hicks explained: “When crews arrived, they were faced with a fire in the basement kitchen which they quickly extinguished.
“The fire also affected the restaurant’s ducting and roof and firefighters worked hard in hot conditions to prevent it from spreading to neighbouring buildings.”
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