Fire hits London market building

LONDON: Seventy firefighters battled a large fire in a building housing many boutique shops in London’s popular Camden Lock Market on Monday.

The emergency service said it had sent 10 fire engines to the scene and the fire was extinguished within around three hours with no casualties reported. “The first, second and third floors, plus the roof, of a building within the market are alight,” the London Fire Brigade said on Twitter after the fire broke out.

Fire brigade spokesman David Reid said: “Crews worked hard to get the fire under control and to stop it from spreading to neighbouring buildings.”

Images shared on social media showed tall flames and a burntout building at the north London market, which is popular with Londoners and tourists.

“The fire was moving very fast,” witness Joan Ribes, 24, told the Press Association news agency. He said the fire “was flying through the air to the surrounding areas”.

“People were watching, but we were scared the building could explode at any time since there are restaurants with kitchens nearby,” he said.

The market area has around 28 million visitors a year.

A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said they were called to a fire at 00:07 am, but that they had not treated any patients.

PARLIAMENT TEMPORARILY EVACUATED

Britain’s parliament was temporarily evacuated on Monday after a fire alarm but people later re-entered the building, a Reuters reporter said.

The London Fire Brigade said it had not been called out after the fire alarm sounded.