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Huge warehouse fire sends smoke over west London | Huge warehouse fire sends smoke over west London |
(about 2 hours later) | |
A large fire has sent smoke over west London as 75 firefighters try to extinguish the blaze at a range of industrial units. | A large fire has sent smoke over west London as 75 firefighters try to extinguish the blaze at a range of industrial units. |
London Fire Brigade (LFB) said 15 fire engines were at the scene in Shepherds Bush. The fire has now been contained. | |
White City Tube station and Wood Lane were closed after the blaze started at 09:35 GMT. | |
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from the nearby BBC White City complex. | |
A section of the A40 was closed earlier but has now reopened. | |
An LFB spokesman said the estimated total size of the warehouses was 170m by 90m (557ft by 295ft) and 50% had been on fire. | |
As of 13:35 GMT, he said the fire was contained with no risk of it spreading. | |
A safety cordon was put up around Wood Lane earlier as a precaution in case gas cylinders were inside the premises. | |
"We've found one acetylene cylinder at the site of the Wood Lane fire and crews are cooling it to make it safe," a spokesman said. | |
There have been no reports of explosions. | |
'Challenging incident' | 'Challenging incident' |
Station manager Rod Horton, who is at the scene, said earlier: "The fire is affecting a range of industrial buildings on the dairy site. | |
"It's a challenging and developing incident at the moment and we're likely to be at the scene for some time." | "It's a challenging and developing incident at the moment and we're likely to be at the scene for some time." |
An ambulance and a hazardous area response team is also in attendance but London Ambulance Service said no-one had been reported hurt. | An ambulance and a hazardous area response team is also in attendance but London Ambulance Service said no-one had been reported hurt. |
More than 100 people were evacuated from the factory complex, according to a local petrol station worker. | More than 100 people were evacuated from the factory complex, according to a local petrol station worker. |
Rashid Ansari, 23, a sales assistant at Esso petrol station in Wood Lane, said: "The fire took place around the back of the Unigate factory. It is a multiple factory so a lot of people work there... they have closed the road and not a single person is allowed down here. There is lots of thick, dark smoke." | |
The LFB spokesman said: "People were evacuated but we do not believe it was as many as 100." | |
'Traffic chaos' | 'Traffic chaos' |
A Transport for London (TfL) spokesman said: "Buses are currently on diversion and TfL is working to divert traffic away from the area and minimise any disruption caused by this incident." | |
Train services have also been disrupted. | |
Eyewitness Guy Ramshaw said: "We were on the A40, driving up from Earl's Court when we saw the smoke. | Eyewitness Guy Ramshaw said: "We were on the A40, driving up from Earl's Court when we saw the smoke. |
"They had shut the Westway so there was no A40 going out of the city from Paddington. It was causing chaos with the traffic." | "They had shut the Westway so there was no A40 going out of the city from Paddington. It was causing chaos with the traffic." |
The warehouses used to be owned by Unigate which was taken over by Dairycrest in 2002. | The warehouses used to be owned by Unigate which was taken over by Dairycrest in 2002. |
A spokeswoman for Dairycrest said she did not know who bought the warehouses. | A spokeswoman for Dairycrest said she did not know who bought the warehouses. |
The cause of the blaze is not yet known. | The cause of the blaze is not yet known. |