A fire that broke out at a five-storey building in South Kensington has left eleven people in hospital with smoke inhalation. About 130 individuals were evacuated from Emperor’s Gate following the blaze, which occurred just after midnight. London Fire Brigade was called to the scene, where they found half of the building’s ground floor on fire. The flames were successfully brought under control at around 5.30am.
Steve Collins, a station commander for the London Fire Brigade, praised the efforts of the team and said, “Crews worked extremely hard to contain the (fire) to stop it spreading to adjacent buildings.” Despite this, road closures are still in place and will remain so through to the morning rush hour.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has issued a statement saying that council staff have provided assistance and shelter for those who have been affected at a nearby hotel. Emergency services are still present at the scene, and the blaze is expected to take several hours more to fully extinguish.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown. Two people were rescued from a second-floor flat, while one was rescued from the first floor and another two were saved from a fourth-floor apartment. It is fortunate that these individuals were saved, as flames had spread from the building’s lower level, all the way up to the roof
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