Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Old Street Fire: Blaze in City of London now under control

Reportedly, smoke could be seen for 'miles around'

Olivia Blair
Thursday 12 November 2015 06:40 EST
Comments
The Old Street area is often dubbed the 'Silicon Roundabout'
The Old Street area is often dubbed the 'Silicon Roundabout' (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A fire which broke out in a building in the Old Street area of the City of London is now under control.

According to the London Fire Brigade, 26 calls were made to the service at around 9am this morning.

The six-floor building on fire is currently under demolition.

The brigade initially sent six fire engines and 35 firefighters and officers to tackle the blaze in the EC1 postcode of London, this later increased to eight engines and 58 firefighters.

Firefighters tackled the blaze for around an hour before it was controlled; the LFB says crews will remain at the scene throughout the morning to dampen down the fire.

A spoksperson for the brigade said there are currently no reports of any injuries.

Station Manager Gareth Cook, who was at the scene said: "Crews worked hard to contain this blaze and to stop it from spreading. The main fire was concentrated around the building's 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 area, home to the Silicon Roundabout, is sometimes referred to as the 'Tech City' of London due to the cluster of tech start-ups based in the area.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in