Forest Hill station closed due to fire in close proximity

[jazzer]

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Last updated: Today, 9:53 PM

Fire at shop - Forest Hill

Today 18:27

 

Lewisham

 

Fire at commercial property

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Fifteen fire engines and around 100 firefighters have been called to a fire at a property on Perry Vale in Forest Hill.

The fire involves a building made up of a shop on the ground floor, with flats above. The fire has affected the ground, first and second floors of the building.

As of 2145 hrs, part of the ground floor shop remains alight, as well as part of the first and second floors. A single-storey workshop to the rear of the shop also remains partially alight.

Around 15 people were evacuated from surrounding buildings. At this time, there have been no reports of any injuries.

Station Commander Anthony Lewis, who is at the scene, said: "This will be a protracted incident, with crews working through the night to fully extinguish this fire.

"We're advising people in the local area to continue to keep windows and doors closed due to smoke travel.

"A 25-metre cordon is currently in place and the public are advised to avoid the area at this time. 

"Significant traffic disruption can be expected in the Forest Hill area, including in the A205 South Circular Road. Rail services via Forest Hill station are also being affected as a result of this fire."

The Brigade received the first of 49 calls at 1827 and Control Officers have mobilised crews from Forest Hill, Lewisham, Beckenham, West Norwood and surrounding fire stations to the scene.

A 32-metre turntable ladder is also in attendance and is being used as a water tower to extinguish the fire from above. The Brigade has also deployed a drone to provide the Incident Commander with a greater situational awareness of the fire.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.

[malumbu]

Finches, apparently, sadly, the bike shop and outdoor adventures. Was on my way to the Walrus on Perry Vale, had to go the long way.  Loads of fire crew and cops.  

Edited 20 hours ago by malumbu

[NewWave]

1 minute ago, malumbu said:

Finches, sadly, the bike shop and outdoor adventures. Was on my way to the Walrus on Perry Vale, had to go the long way.  Loads of fire crew and cops.

Thats very sad..they're a lovely local buisness and coming up to Christmas trading too. I witnessed the fire from outside the cordon and there were huge flames leaping into the air..I could'nt tell which shop it was exactly but I did hear a guy telling someone it started in the hairdressers then spread really quickly to the back of the bike shop.

So much respect for the brave firefighters I saw running to help and wishing all of them a safe evening.

[Cyclemonkey]

Very sad.  A well regarded local business, let's hope they can recover.  Thankfully it seems no one was hurt. 

All transport fine in Forest Hill this morning but the air around the station is not good if anyone has breathing issues.

[Rockets]

I agree the folks at Finches are lovely and this is such a blow to them I really hope they can recover.

[jazzer]

Last updated: Today, 1:20 PM

Fire at shop - Forest Hill

Yesterday 18:27

 

Lewisham

 

Fire at commercial property

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Fifteen fire engines and around 100 firefighters were called to a fire at a property on Perry Vale in Forest Hill.

The fire involved a building made up of a shop on the ground floor, a basement, and a flat on the first and second floors of the building. The whole building has sustained significant damage as a result of the fire. A storage area to the rear of the shop was also severely damaged by fire.

One man was injured in the incident. He did not require hospital treatment. Two people and one dog escaped the flat before firefighters arrived via a first-floor flat roof and were assisted to ground level by members of the public.

Around 15 people were evacuated from surrounding buildings and they were taken to a rest centre. The majority of these residents were able to return home overnight; however a small number remain in the care of the local authority.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jamie Jenkins, who was the Incident Commander, said: “Firefighters were met with a fully-developed fire and they worked extremely hard for several hours to prevent the fire spreading to neighbouring properties.

“This was a protracted incident with crews working through the night to fully extinguish the fire. We deployed two of our 32-metre turntable ladders as water towers to help put out the fire from above.

“Whilst the fire was ongoing, we advised people in the local area to keep their windows and doors closed due the smoke travel from the incident. This smoke travel also resulted in the temporary closure of Forest Hill Station.

“An investigation into this fire remains ongoing; however I can confirm that the fire is being treated as accidental and is believed to have originated in a storage area.

“A small number of crews remain at the scene today extinguishing hotspots and assisting with the investigation.”

Forest Hill Station Commander, Mike Watts, said: “A 25-metre cordon remains in place and Perry Vale is currently closed to traffic; however the station reopened earlier this morning.

“The Brigade has worked closely with the local authority to support those affected by this fire. We will continue to have a visible presence in the area and will be liaising with local residents and businesses, sharing fire safety advice with them.”

The Brigade received the first of 52 calls at 1827 and Control Officers mobilised crews from Forest Hill, Lewisham, Beckenham, West Norwood and surrounding fire stations to the scene, along with two 32-metre turntable ladders. The Brigade also deployed a drone to provide the Incident Commander with a greater situational awareness of the fire.

The fire was brought under control by 2344.

The cause of the fire is being treated as accidental and is believed to have originated as a result of hot works taking place in the storage area to the rear of the shop.

[TWB Cat Sitter]

This is incredibly tragic... My heart breaks for this family...
Luckily, everyone was able to make it out safely.

⚠️ They have a cat that has managed to escape & they are desperately searching for her. Queenie is microchipped. 8 years old. Black & White.

 

 

This is the only image that has been made available to us so far.
I just hope she managed to escape unscathed. She's going to be shaken up.

Edited 2 hours ago by TWB Cat Sitter

[Cyclemonkey]

Yes please do post a picture so we Forest Hill people can keep an eye out.