Firefighters tackle blaze at Old Street office building
SMOKE billowed in to the sky this morning as a fire broke out at an office building in Old Street, London.
Almost 60 firefighters and eight appliances from London Fire Brigade tackled the blaze at 148 Old Street which was previously the headquarters of Royal Mail.
26 calls were made to 999 as the fire took hold on five levels of the six storey, 1970s-built office building which is currently undergoing an extensive refurbishment.
London Fire Brigade Station Manager Gareth Cook commented: “Crews worked hard to contain this blaze and to stop it from spreading. The main fire was concentrated around the building’s central lift shaft. This created a chimney effect, which is why smoke could be seen for miles around during the early stages of the incident.”
The 97,807 sq. ft office building was acquired in 2013 by Great Ropemaker Partnership – a joint venture between Great Portland Estates plc and The BP Pension Fund. Planning permission was given earlier this year to refurbish the property and add two new levels of office space.
In another incident today, businesses were evacuated after a WWII bomb was found by construction workers on a site at the junction of Commercial and Brushfield Streets near Spitalfields.
We've now got 6 fire engines & 35 firefighters & officers at the building fire on Old Street #EC1 © @ivory717 pic.twitter.com/HR7p2pUI52
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) November 12, 2015
We've had Twenty 999 calls to very visible fire on Old Street. No reports of injuries at this stage © @JaneNorthcote pic.twitter.com/AghNBNoYJB
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) November 12, 2015
Elsewhere on offices.org.uk: Search for office space in Old Street