London substation fire under control, says brigade

A large fire that spread from an electricity substation to a block of flats in north-west London has been brought under control, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) has said.

Around 80 residents were led to safety after the roof of the building on Aberdeen Place, Maida Vale, caught alight from the blaze, which broke out at about 05:30 BST.

No injuries have been reported, although LFB urged local residents to keep their doors and windows closed.

UK Power Networks said the cause of the fire was a "fault on a piece of equipment" in its substation".

More than 100 firefighters have been tackling the flames, which sent large clouds of grey smoke into the air.

LFB's Assistant Commissioner Patrick Goulbourne, speaking at the scene, said it was a "technically complex fire to extinguish".

He said a major incident was declared at 08:26 and stood down at 10:53.

Assistant Commissioner Goulbourne added: "We have a scientific adviser on site that is closely monitoring the quality of the air in the area.

"Firefighting operations will continue for some time to ensure we fully extinguish the transformer in the substation."

UK Power Networks said the substation remained operational and there had been no interruption to the electricity supply.

Sanna Daw, who lives in a nearby block, told the BBC she had seen "bright orange flames" that were 6 - 8 ft high (about 1.8m - 2.4m) and a "huge billowing black plume" of smoke rise from the burning building.

"At one stage there was a big eruption... I was quite scared," she said.

One resident who had to leave her home said she had been awoken by her mother at about 05:30 who had smelled the fire burning.

Alice Bazzi said as the morning went on, the flames became "higher than these trees" before catching the roof of her building.

She said the fire grew worse until "some sort inferno blow-up happened".

Using her hands to mimic the sudden rising of flames, she added: "You didn't hear it but you just saw it, it went 'phew'.

"You felt it on your face, I felt the heat."

LFB said it had received more than 170 calls about the fire, which it described as "very visible".

A UK Power Networks spokesperson said: "Our teams are working with the fire service to make the equipment safe.

"This is an isolated incident and customers' supplies were not impacted."

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