A fire this morning at a timber frame building under construction in London has been brought under control by around 75 firefighters.

Around three-quarters of the five-storey building in Camberwell was badly damaged by the fire, and some 150 people were evacuated from neighbouring premises as a precaution.

London Fire Brigade was called at around 2.30 am and the fire was brought under control some four hours later. A brigade spokesperson said firefighters had to work hard to prevent the fire from spreading to neighbouring buildings.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

 

Hotels and leisure buildings present some particularly demanding fire safety challenges and, if a fire breaks out, they have the potential to deliver some devastating casualty statistics

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