Huge fireplace in London house block as 80 firefighters rush to scene

A huge blaze has engulfed an apartment block in South London with around 80 firefighters called to the scene.

Two flats on the tenth and eleventh floors were alight on St Marks Square in Bromley, the London Fire Brigade have confirmed.

Twelve fire engines and around 80 firefighters tackled the inferno at roughly 10am this morning.

Control Officers took the first of 20 calls at 9.52am and the fire was under control two hours later.

The same building caught alight just two years ago, which saw around 120 people inside needing to be evacuated.

Two flats on the tenth and eleventh floors were engulfed by ablaze at an apartment block on St Marks Square in Bromley, the London Fire Brigade have confirmed

It is the second fire at the building in just a few years, with the 2022 blaze, which saw around 100 residents evacuated, pictured

Crews from Bromley, Beckenham, Woodside and surrounding fire stations all attended the scene at the 19-storey, modern apartment building this morning, where some teams remain. 

Station Commander Gary Melia, who attended the scene, said: ‘Firefighters worked hard to bring this fire under control.

‘There remains significant congestion around Westmoreland Road, so please continue to avoid the area if you can.

‘A rest centre has been set up at St Marks Church Hall and we are working with multi-agency partners to support residents.

‘Crews will remain on scene for several hours damping down.’

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Bromley Council reacted to the blaze by saying they would ‘support emergency services as needed’.

The same building also caught alight in 2022 and a Premier Inn next to the tower was also evacuated due to safety concerns. 

Half of a five-room flat on the 15th floor of the block was alight that day, with part of the roof also on fire. More than 120 residents were evacuated from the building and there were no reports of injuries.

A resident told MailOnline firefighters managed to get to the fire ‘pretty quick’.

‘It’s a big plaza with a cinema and a Nandos and we could see from the balcony that there were loads of people in the square. I went to my other balcony at the back of the building and that’s where you could see the flames.

‘Everyone just left, evacuated the building. I guess they evacuated the cinema across the street as well. There’s a big square in the plaza and they just moved everyone away.’

He added the building is divided into four self contained blocks and said he believed the fire was contained to just one.