Flames ripped through the property based beside the Beckenham Odeon cinema on Tuesday morning with some 70 firefighters taking two-and-a-half hours to bring the blaze under control. Local business owner Chris Penfold said he had raised concerns about a wooden structure on the roof of the building and told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) it "was just a question of when, rather than if [a fire broke out]". The Met Police is investigating the cause of the fire and the council said it could not comment while this is taking place.
Around 150 people were evacuated as a huge fire ripped through a block of flats in south London destroying most of the building. Some 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines were called to the fire on Maysoule Road in Battersea on Wednesday evening. Footage shared online showed flames tearing through the roof of the five-storey building. The residents were evacuated from the building by fire crews wearing breathing apparatus. No injuries have been reported.