Beckenham town centre was shutdown this morning, as a fire raged on the high street, close to the Odeon cinema, which needed 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters to bring under control.
High street shutdown: the LFB are asking the public to avoid Beckenham town centre while they secure the area after the blaze
According to the London Fire Brigade: “The fire was fully affecting the roof of a mixed-use building, currently under refurbishment, as well as the first and second floors of the building. This building has sustained a significant amount of damage as a result of the fire.”
Firefighters were called out just before 8am, and crews from Beckenham, Bromley, Woodside, Forest Hill and surrounding fire stations attended. The fire was under control by 10.30am.
A 32-metre turntable ladder from Forest Hill has also attending and was used as a water tower to help extinguish the fire from above. The Brigade’s drone team was also deployed to provide visual assessment of the rooftop blaze.
Difficult task: stopping the fire from spreading to other buildings, including the Odeon cinema, was a priority for the firefighters
Residents were advised to keep their windows closed because of the large amount of smoke created.
Crews remain on scene fully extinguishing the fire and to dampen down.
There have been no reports of any injuries at this time.
Station Commander Tony Perks, who was at the scene, said: “Firefighters have worked extremely hard to prevent the fire spreading significantly to adjoining buildings, including a cinema, resulting in very limited damage to those buildings.
“The incident continues to cause major traffic disruption in Beckenham and we are asking people to avoid travelling through the area whilst the incident remains ongoing as road closures are in place.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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