Around 125 firefighters fought a huge blaze at an industrial site in Mitcham.
The fire affected a tyre centre, workshop and scaffolding yard and part of a house, the London Fire Brigade said. Around eight hectares of surrounding scrubland and grass was also alight at the height of the fire.
Twenty fire engines were at the scene near Carshalton Road after firefighters were called to the incident shortly before 4.30pm.
The fire closed the rail line between Mitcham Junction and Sutton causing chaos on rush hour Southern and Thameslink services with disruption expected until the end of the day.
Footage shared online shows smoke billowing from the fire as firefighters battled the blaze.
Fire at a warehouse by Mitcham Junction 26/08/2026#mitchamjunction #thegoat #carshaltonroad #londonroad pic.twitter.com/rJzcgLK4sl
— efe **** (@justefe2) August 26, 2026
The LFB warned the fire was producing a significant amount of smoke and local residents should keep their windows and doors closed.
It told people to avoid the area near Mitcham Common if they can.
The cause of the fire, which was brought under control at 8.28pm, is currently under investigation and is not yet known.
After being brought under control, half of the site remains alight with multiple hotspots across the grassland.
Road closures remained in place on Wednesday evening in London Road and Carshalton Road at the junctions of Willow Lane, Goat Road and Hackbridge Road.
The LFB used specialist wildfire equipment to tackle the blaze as well as a 32 metre turntable ladder to fight the fire from above.
A drone team provided an aerial view of the fire to help make decisions about tackling the blaze.
Call handlers were flooded with calls about the fire with over 70 calls alerting the LFB, with the first at 4.27pm.
Station Commander Jim Berry, who attended the scene, said: “Firefighters have worked hard this evening and have now brought this fire in Mitcham under control.
“At its height, the fire affected a workshop, a scaffolding yard and part of a house. Around half of the site remains alight. Multiple hotspots also remain alight across around eight hectares of shrubland and grass. Thankfully, there are currently no reports of any injuries.
🚨🔥 Twenty fire engines and around 125 firefighters are tackling a major #fire near #CarshaltonRoad in #Mitcham. @SkyNews @BBCNews @itvnews @GBNEWS @DailyMail @TheSun @Telegraph @BBCLondonNews @itvlondon @thetimes pic.twitter.com/6tPiSyWtZY
— Elevate Drones (@ElevateDrones) August 26, 2026
"Firefighting operations will continue overnight as crews fully extinguish the fire and dampen down hotspots, so please continue to avoid the area if you can. Road closures are in place on London Road and Carshalton Road at the junctions of Willow Lane, Goat Road and Hackbridge Road.
“To support firefighting efforts, one of the Brigade's Terrain Support Vehicles was sent to the scene. The vehicle provides off-road capability enabling the transportation of additional equipment closer to fires on open ground. Each vehicle carries approximately 475 litres of water, a backpack blower, ear defenders, beaters and misting lance technology, which allows firefighters to pump water and drive, enabling them to tackle grass fires more quickly and safely.”
The local authority Merton Council wrote earlier online: “London Fire Brigade are responding to a large fire in the Mitcham Junction area.
“Please avoid the Carshalton Road area. Trains are suspended between Mitcham Junction and Hackbridge.
“At this time no casualties have been reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.”
National Rail warned: “A fire on property near the railway has closed the line between Mitcham Junction and Sutton.
It said: “Thameslink services between Sutton and St Albans will be suspended or run via Wimbledon only.
“Southern services between London Victoria and Dorking / Horsham via Sutton will be diverted via West Croydon increasing journey times by 20 minutes
“Southern & Thameslink: Selected services will make additional stops at Coulsdon South, Merstham, and Three Bridges to cover cancelled services at these stations.”
The London Fire Brigade has mobilised crews from Mitcham, Wallington, Norbury and surrounding fire stations to the scene.
Disruption was expected to continue until the end of the day.
