Firefighters managed to bring an “intense” blaze in south-east London under control in the early hours of Wednesday.
Twenty fire engines and 120 firefighters spent nearly 12 hours dealing with the fire on the roof of a block of flats on Creek Road, Deptford, on Tuesday afternoon.
Around 13 people evacuated the building before fire crews arrived. There were no reports of any injuries.
The London Fire Brigade said they were called at 1.03pm on Tuesday, with the fire under control just before 1am on Wednesday morning.
Crews remained at the scene through the night to dampen down any hot spots and remained at the site as of 6am, a spokesperson said.
Videos posted on social media showed large plumes of smoke engulfing the roof of the building as of 4.15pm.
Station Commander Ian Smith, who was at the scene said: “This was an intense fire located in the roof of the building and fire crews worked hard in challenging conditions.
Fire still burning !! @LondonFire #Deptford #creekroad #greenwich #cuttysark pic.twitter.com/7jYkC3I3wp
— aprajitakohli (@kohliaprajita) April 27, 2022
“The fire was behind a number of voids which meant access was difficult and led to this being a very protracted incident.
“The whole of the roof was damaged by the blaze.”
The cause of the fire remains unknown.
The #Deptford roof fire was exceptionally challenging due to the fire being behind voids and difficult to access. The fire was declared under control before 1am this morning. Crews remain on the scene damping down hot spots https://t.co/VWf0OpMbxH https://t.co/bWHqas26yU
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) April 27, 2022
Michael Rudling, a resident of the building told the Standard he was met with “thick black smoke” as he returned from work experience to see the extent of the blaze.
While his own flat remains on the second floor, he said officials informed him the top floor had been damaged due to the blaze.
He added: “People were relatively calm but it was typical London annoyance. People didn’t realise firefighters were working hard and they had to work hard to keep the cordons in place.”
