Six people have been rescued from a house fire in West Hampstead that police are treating as suspected arson, after a major late-night response by the London Fire Brigade.
The alarm was raised at 10.36pm on 24 September. Nine fire engines and around 65 firefighters were sent to Fordwych Road, where crews found a house with the fire spreading through most of the ground floor.
Two people were rescued from the first floor of the property, while a further four were helped down from the second floor using ladders. Another person had already managed to leave the house before the brigade arrived.
Everyone rescued was checked over at the scene for smoke inhalation by the London Ambulance Service. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson confirmed there were no injuries caused by the fire itself.
Crews from across north-west London respond
The scale of the response reflected the seriousness of the incident. Crews were drawn from West Hampstead, Paddington, Willesden and other nearby stations, and firefighters worked through the night before bringing the blaze under control by 1.52am. Most of the ground floor of the property was damaged by the fire.
The brigade’s 999 control officers received seven calls about the fire and gave fire-survival guidance to people inside the building until firefighters were able to reach them. Control room teams have faced similar pressure during other major incidents in the capital, including the Poplar tower fire, after which residents were still in hotels a week on, stuck in “limbo”.
Man, 44, arrested at the scene
A 44-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of arson and three counts of assault of an emergency worker. He remains in custody as inquiries continue.
The assault allegations relate to emergency workers attending the incident. It is not the first suspected arson fire in the area to lead to an arrest: a man was also held on suspicion of arson after a late-night flat fire in Kilburn.
Cause under investigation
The cause of the fire is being investigated by the London Fire Brigade and the Metropolitan Police. Officers are working alongside the brigade’s fire investigators to establish how the blaze started, and police have said their investigations are continuing.
The West Hampstead blaze is the latest serious house fire in the capital to demand a large-scale response, following the fire that destroyed ‘Ecclefechan’, a heritage home in Addiscombe.
London Streets will update this story as more details emerge.
