London homeless camp goes up in flames as firefighters rush in to tackle blazing inferno
A major fire has ripped through a homeless camp in central London, forcing firefighters to rush in to put out the blazing inferno.
The flames destroyed part of the camp on Tottenham Court Road – one of the capital’s busiest tourist areas – last night.
Video footage captured at the scene shows the extent of the fire, with flames visible from other parts of central London.
Firefighters from the London Fire Brigade rushed to tackle the raging inferno, as shown in video footage from the scene.
Police officers were also present at the location, working alongside the fire crews during the emergency response.
London Fire Brigade has confirmed that the fire destroyed a tent, electrical display board and around four cubic meters of rubbish.
A spokesperson for them said: “Firefighters tackled a fire on Tottenham Court Road in Central London.
“Around four cubic metres of rubbish were destroyed by the fire. Half of a tent and an electrical display board were damaged by the fire.
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“Control Officers took the first of three calls at 2356 (17/11) and mobilised crews from Euston and Islington fire stations to the scene. The incident was over for firefighters at 0106 (18/11).”
The cause of the devastating fire remains unclear, with authorities yet to determine whether it was a case of arson or an accidental blaze.
In the aftermath of the incident, burnt debris could be seen scattered across the ground at the Tottenham Court Road site.
Some tents at the homeless camp appeared to have survived the fire and remained standing near the affected area.
Rough sleeper, Gary Birdsall, 51, sleeps nearby said he woke up to the sound of screaming and fire engines.
He told MyLondon: “I was asleep, and I heard the fire engines and I heard screaming.
“I don’t know what the state of play down there this morning is but there were two tents this morning when I left.
“The cleaners were there and a picker who said there were a lot of nasty needles on site. This was at 6 o’clock this morning.”