Fire crews called to blaze as black smoke rises above six-storey building near central London tourist hotspot

Fire crews battled a blaze close to Marble Arch in Connaught Street, London
Six crews were dispatched to the site at 10.49am to tackle the fire today
Pictures from the scene showed plumes of black smoke rising from the building
Metropolitan Police a number of people were evacuated from nearby properties
London Fire Brigade say restaurant owners must 'clean their extraction systems'

Published: 11:41 BST, 15 July 2017 | Updated: 13:10 BST, 15 July 2017

e-mail

151

View
comments

A fire broke out at a six-storey building near Marble Arch as firefighters battle flames underneath plumes of black smoke.

Six crews were dispatched to the blaze in a restaurant near this morning, close to the junction between Edgware Road and Connaught Street this morning.

The fire ignited inside a restaurant's ventilation system between the basement and first floors of the building and has now been brought under control.

Around 35 firefighters and police officers were called to the scene at 10.49am.

Firefighters were called to the scene at 10.49am and the fire is affecting a shop and residential properties above the premises

The fire ignited inside ventilation between the ground and first floors of the building

Police cordoned off part of the road to traffic as firefighters worked to tackle the blaze, which spread to an adjacent block of flats.

A spokesman for London Metropolitan Police told MailOnline: 'One lane of the road is still closed to traffic.'

They added that a 'small number of people' had to be evacuated from nearby buildings.

The cordon remains in place and motorists are advised to avoid the area.

The fire spread to residential properties above Ranoush Juice in central London, near the junction between Edgware Road and Connaught Street

Six crews were dispatched to the blaze at the tourist Hotspot in Edgware Road, London this morning

Crews are battling flames at the premises which has residential properties situated above

Video posted to Twitter shows black smoke rising from the six-storey building

London Fire Brigade said the blaze starting in the restaurant's ventilation extraction system, which caused the basement and first floor to sustain fire damage.

Flames also through external ducting to an adjacent block of flats which were also damaged.

A spokesman for London Fire Brigade said: 'Restaurant and takeaway owners should always make sure their extraction systems are clean because built-up food and grease within the filters can lead to a fire.'