Firefighters tackle blaze at mixed-use building behind Goodge Street station

Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters sped to Fitzrovia before 8am this morning to tackle a blaze in a building in Tottenham Street near Goodge Street underground station.

One man had to be rescued from the building by the London Fire Brigade and taken to hospital

A 32-metre turntable ladder was used to pour water from above onto the difficult-to-reach fire which started around 7.30am behind buildings on the southeast corner of Tottenham Street and Whitfield Street.

A large amount of smoke could be seen billowing into the surrounding streets then rising above the block of buildings which includes Goodge Street underground station on Tottenham Court Road.

Ground floor properties contain mostly shops and commercial services but the upper floors along Tottenham Street and the corner of Whitfield Street have dozens of homes where some residents would likely be still asleep.

Police and the London Ambulance Service attended the scene while nearby buildings were evacuated and the surrounding streets cordoned off.

During the blaze LFB gave an update on the situation.

“Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters are at the scene of a fire near Tottenham Street in #Fitzrovia.

“Please avoid the area and keep windows and doors closed due to smoke travel,” said the London Fire Brigade on social media.

A huge amount of smoke could be seen from surrounding buildings.

“From 8th floor of BBC Broadcasting House, huge fire in central London, looks like it’s around Tottenham Court Road,” said an employee at the BBC on social media.

Another statement from the LFB said:

“Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters are tackling a fire at a mixed use building on Tottenham Street in Euston [sic].

“Half of the ground floor is alight.

“One of the Brigade’s 32-metre turntable ladders is being used at the scene to help fight the fire from above.

“Control Officers took the first of 14 calls at 07:43 and mobilised crews from Soho, Euston, Islington and surrounding fire stations to the scene.

“The cause of the fire is not yet known,” said the statement.

Crews ran fire hoses through the front door of a beauty salon on the ground floor in Tottenham Street between Whitfield Street and Tottenham Court Road. The Fitzrovia News understands that fire crews had to smash their way into the salon where the fire was located.

Workers in a health club in a basement below the salon told The Fitzrovia News that they could smell smoke shortly after 7.30am and called the fire brigade as they escaped the building while fire alarms went off.

Residents from homes above the building were evacuated.

LFB gave an updated statement later this morning:

“Most of the ground floor was damaged by the fire. One man was rescued from the building by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus using a fire escape hood and was taken to hospital.

“Fire escape hoods provide members of the public with up to 15 minutes protection from four of the main fire gases (carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chloride and acrolein) and can be worn by conscious or unconscious people. If more than 15 minutes protection is required then another hood can be given to each wearer. They do not provide oxygen but temporarily filter toxic smoke to make breathing easier.

“One of the Brigade’s 32-metre turntable ladders was used as an observation tower to provide the Incident Commander with an aerial view of the fire.

“The incident was over for firefighters at 09:36. The cause of the fire is under investigation,” said the LFB.

Please support The Fitzrovia News. Consider helping us cover our costs by visiting our secure payment page.