Fire rages through London's West Hampstead flat, dozens evacuated

A huge fire broke out in a five-storey residential building in London’s West Hampstead in the early hours of Thursday, forcing rescuers to evacuate dozens of people, and it took nearly four hours to douse the blaze, the London Fire Brigade said.

“The fire is believed to have started in a flat on the fourth floor,” fire brigade station manager Clainton Murray said.

“Fire crews assisted two people from the first floor and a number of other residents self evacuated from lower floors,” Murray said. “Around 50 residents used a local public house as a rest centre.”

The fire brigade was called in at 0104 am (past midnight GMT) and the fire was under control by 0501 am, it said in a statement, adding that the cause of the fire was not known yet.

Neighbours took to social media to post photos and videos of the incident.

The London Ambulance Service have confirmed that no one was taken to hospital as a result of the incident, the fire brigade said.