The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
120 firefighters tackle blaze at luxury hotel
London: Evacuations after large fire broke out on roof of 12-storey building
Guests and staff were evacuated from a luxury hotel in an upmarket area of central London yesterday as 120 firefighters tackled a huge fire on the roof.
London Fire Brigade said 20 engines and 120 firefighters and officers had been sent to the scene at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, in Knightsbridge, as huge plumes of thick black smoke could be seen rising into the sky.
Paramedics attended but London Ambulance Service said it had not treated any patients.
Flames could be seen around the top of the hotel, and extended ladders were erected to access that area of the building.
The 12-storey five-star hotel completed the “most extensive restoration in its 115-year history” last month, according to a statement published by owner Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.
All 181 bedrooms and suites are “now more luxurious and comfortable than ever before” and the building’s “iconic facade was revitalised”, the company said.
The hotel is located between Hyde Park and the Knightsbridge shopping district, which includes Harrods.
A tradesman working at the hotel said he saw a “big fire” on the roof before raising the alarm.
The 19-year-old lift engineer, who gave his name as Harry, said: “I said (to my colleague) ‘Lee, there’s a fire over there, let’s get out of the building. Get out the lift shaft, I’m being serious’.
“We ran down the stairs and went and got the scaffolder out of the loading bay.”
He said the builders on the roof had been cutting materials and doing other work during the day.
Staff from the hotel have been evacuated to Hyde Park where they were being given bottles of water.
One worker, who asked not to be named, said: “The fire alarm started and everybody was told to get outside.
“Everything’s fine but we don’t know how it started yet.”