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London fire crews tackle Southwark library blaze London fire crews tackle Southwark Council building blaze
(about 1 hour later)
A fire has broken out in a building in Southwark which houses a library, a museum and the council's one stop shop.A fire has broken out in a building in Southwark which houses a library, a museum and the council's one stop shop.
Almost 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines are tackling the blaze in the four-storey building in Wansey Street, Walworth, London Fire Brigade said. Almost 120 firefighters and 15 fire engines are tackling the blaze in the four-storey building in Wansey Street, Walworth, London Fire Brigade said.
Newington Library, Cuming Museum and the one stop shop are closed, the local authority has said. Newington Library, Cuming Museum and the one stop shop are closed.
Fire crews were called at 12:30 GMT. A part of the library's roof is on fire. No injuries have been reported. The whole roof the library and the museum is on fire. No injuries have been reported. The council said it is worried about the museum's collection.
LFB said it expected fire engines to remain at the scene "for at least the next few hours". Fire crews were alerted to the fire just before 12:30 GMT and 30 people were evacuated from inside the building.
"It's not known at this stage how the blaze started," a statement added. LFB station manager Peter Critchell, who is at the scene, said: "Flames are coming through the roof and there is thick grey smoke billowing up.
"Firefighters are still working hard at the scene to try and bring the blaze under control.
"We now have water jets attacking the fire from the four corners of the building.
"We evacuated 30 people from inside the museum and firefighters will be making efforts to salvage as many of the artefacts as possible."
The Wansey Street building was previously the Old Walworth Town Hall.
'Lot of smoke'
Councillor Peter John, leader of the council, said: "A fire has broken out in one of our buildings on the Walworth Road which houses the Cuming Museum, the home of the worldwide collection of the Cuming Family and the museum of Southwark's history.
"It is too early to say what the cause of the fire is and how long services from that building will be suspended for.
"Whilst our first concern is for the safety of residents and our staff, we are also worried about possible damage to the museum's collection."
It is not known how the blaze started, the fire brigade said.
Abhishek Agarwal, 30, a dentist, lives in a tower block near the Elephant and Castle roundabout, about 100m north-west of the fire.
He said: "There were a lot of car alarms going off and sirens, which made me look out of the window.
"There was a lot of smoke. The fire started in a very small area of the roof and within minutes I could see that it was spreading quickly to the rest of the roof.
"It is one of the oldest buildings in the area. It's a real shame as I think it will be very badly damaged.
"I can see flames on some of the other floors too now so I think it is spreading."