Fire rips through luxury central London hotel
Scores of firefighters took more than five hours to tackle a blaze at a five-star hotel in Marylebone in central London that forced the evacuation of 100 guests.
An investigation has been launched over the blaze at the Chiltern Firehouse - a hotel which is a celebrity hotspot and has hosted A-listers including Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp.
London Fire Brigade said no injuries have been reported adding that crews will remain at the scene overnight.
Chiltern Firehouse was due to host the Netflix party for the Bafta awards ceremony on Sunday, but owner Andre Balazs said the venue will "remain closed until further notice".
Mr Balazs said the cause was not yet known, but the fire services were investigating.
"We are grateful to confirm that no one was hurt, and our guests and staff safely evacuated," he added.
Videos on social media showed fire officers using a crane to douse flames as they engulfed the top of the building.
According to the London Fire Brigade, the fire started in ducting and spread from the ground floor to the roof of the four-storey hotel.
PA Media
The fire spread to the second and third floors of the building, the brigade said, adding crews "worked in challenging circumstances" but were able to prevent their spread to to nearby properties.
Crews from Euston, Soho, Paddington, West Hampstead, Kensington, Chelsea, and surrounding fire stations were deployed to the scene.
Mr Balazs added: "It is with heartfelt gratitude and appreciation that we watched a remarkable 140 fire fighters from over 20 stations rapidly descend on what they told me was a hugely sentimental building for so many of them.
"We know in fact one of those who rushed to the Chiltern Firehouse this evening had been stationed in the building when it was a fire station 30 years ago.
"I am truly grateful to all of them as I am sure that this is not the Valentine's Day evening they had in mind."
Located on Chiltern Street, it occupies the site of a Victorian fire station built in 1889.
In 2013 the Chiltern Firehouse opened as a 26-suite hotel and 200-seat restaurant.
Guy Fischman, who was walking home from his workplace near Bond Street, said he saw "embers" and an "orange glow" coming from a window at the hotel.
The 23-year-old, from Richmond in south-west London, said he saw "the whole street full of smoke".
"My coat stinks of smoke right now," Mr Fischman said.
"There was really thick smoke and it got into the other street as well. I walked out and the visibility was awful.
"I did not expect it to be so bad, especially seeing the embers coming from the window at the top, because it was so dark you can just see the orange glow and [the firefighters] were really trying to fight it with the water jets."
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