‘Illegal pedicab’ is blamed for sparking blaze under arches at London Bridge that shut the station causing commuter chaos
- An ‘illegal pedicab’ has been blamed for sparking the fire next to London Bridge
- The fire began under a bridge next to the station and has spread to a car park
- A railway arch used as a garage was destroyed as well as a further parking unit
- London Bridge station was closed and all train services were severely disrupted
- Around 70 firefighters were at the scene tackling the blaze in Southwark
An ‘illegal pedicab’ has been blamed for sparking the large fire under arches at London Bridge station, forcing it to shut and cause commuter chaos.
It is understood that a battery-powered rickshaw overheated and caused the fire, causing severe disruption to journeys this morning.
The pedicab was reportedly parked under the bridge’s arches, in a storage spot.
Until 3pm this afternoon, London Bridge and Southwark stations were closed while fire crews put out the flames. It led to severe delays on London’s Jubilee Line.
The London Fire Brigade received its first call to the incident at 9.29am this morning, and sent 70 firefighters and 10 engines.
According to Network Rail four lines were blocked, and the fire spread to a car park and set several electric cars ablaze.
Photos on social media show the heavy smoke being given off by the fire, which spread to a nearby car park
Nearby buildings had to be evacuated and 10 fire engines have been called to the scene, which was active since around 9.30am this morning (August 17)
It is understood that a battery-powered rickshaw overheated and caused the fire, causing severe disruption to journeys
One of the bridge’s arches, where there were numerous vehicles, was ‘completely alight’, the Evening Standard reported.
The arch, used as a garage containing four vehicles, was destroyed by the fire, as well as a further unit containing vehicles and electric scooters and bikes.
‘Dodgy pedicabs really need regulation,’ a source told the paper.
E-bikes and e-scooters are banned on the Tube, as some batteries are considered to be a fire risk if they are purchased online without meeting the required safety standards.
Battery-assisted pedicabs are not regulated by borough councils or Transport for London and do not have licences.
However this may change, with the upcoming Transport Bill to be considered by the Government.
The London Fire Brigade sent around 40 firefighters, but 10 engines and an extra 30 personnel were later called to the scene.
Fire crews from Dowgate, Whitechapel, Shoreditch, Shadwell and surrounding fire stations were also in attendance.
Local residents were advised to keep their windows and doors closed to protect against the smoke, which spread into railway tunnels close to London Bridge station.
Several buildings in the vicinity of the fire were also evacuated after it emerged that the railway arch was completely alight.
Several buildings in the vicinity of the fire have also been evacuated after it emerged a railway arch was completely alight
London Fire Brigade reported that the fire was brought under control at 11.20am, with Southwark Street closed between Southwark Bridge Road and Lavington Street whilst crews continue to work to make the scene safe.
The station was completely closed while the Jubilee line was part suspended between Wembley Park and Stanmore, with severe delays on the rest of the line.
Both London Bridge station and Southwark Underground station were closed, and no injuries have been reported.
Major disruption between London Bridge and Waterloo East was expected until at least 3pm this afternoon.
Southwark station Commander Wayne Johnson, who was at the scene, said: ‘The blaze is producing heavy smoke and those living or working in the local area are advised to keep their windows and doors closed.
Local residents are being told to keep doors and windows shut to avoid smoke and fumes from the area
‘Trains to and from London Bridge are affected and several buildings have been evacuated.’
The Brigade’s 999 operators took 35 calls to the blaze and managed to gain footage of the fire by asking callers to live stream using their mobiles.
London Fire Brigade said: ‘When a 999 call is received by the Brigade, the caller may be asked if they would like to provide a live video stream of the scene using their smartphone.
‘The Control Officer will send a text message with a secure, one-time-use link that opens a live stream direct from the phone to the Control Room. 999Eye provides better situational awareness and allows us to offer the best advice based on live footage.’
British Transport Police assisted the London Fire Brigade as they responded to the incident, as did Metropolitan Police officers from Southwark.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: ‘London Fire is currently responding to a fire in Southwark.
The Brigade’s 999 operators took 35 calls to the blaze and managed to gain footage of the fire by asking callers to live stream using their mobiles
London Fire Brigade reported that the fire was brought under control at 11.20am
‘Please avoid the area and allow the London Fire Brigade to do their job. London Bridge and Southwark Stations are closed. There are also delays on the Jubilee line.
‘Please see TfL’s website for more information.’
Train operator Southeastern said the fire, which is on Union Street in Southwark, had ‘severely disrupted’ all routes through London Bridge.
It wrote on Twitter: ‘Due to a fire next to the track between Waterloo East and London Bridge, services across all routes through London Bridge are severely disrupted.
‘Trains are being diverted to other London terminals or terminated at alternative locations.’
The London Fire Brigade sent around 40 firefighters, but 10 engines and an extra 30 personnel were later also called to the scene
Firefighters arrive at the scene after a fire broke out near London Bridge station
Local student Lauren Chopin lives in an apartment two minutes’ walk from the fire and said she had to wear a mask in her apartment due to the fumes.
‘There is a lot of smoke all through Union Street and neighbouring streets, there are many fire emergency services trying to put out the fire,’ the 20-year-old said.
‘It sometimes slows down and the smoke becomes whiter, only to be followed by another huge burst of black smoke… we have closed all doors and windows to limit the amount of smoke coming in.’
A social media manager said he heard ‘fire alarms going off’ while he was at work and was shocked to see ‘black smoke billowing’ in Southwark.
Lee Scarratt, 36, said: ‘At about 9.30am this morning I suddenly saw very thick grey/black smoke billowing out over the tops of the buildings across the street from my office building.
‘I could hear fire alarms going off and a crowd of people crowding at the end of the road. Then four fire engines arrived and an incident truck. The smoke continued to get thicker and could be really visual in the sky.’
He added that his office was ‘close enough’ to see the smoke clearly and he was not sure about distance, but ‘it was behind the buildings across the street’.
He said the fire engines arrived around five to 10 minutes after the smoke started coming out above the buildings and there was a ‘huge’ crowd at the end of the road, which was ‘presumably a mixture of evacuated people and passers-by’.
The fire broke out at an arch under the railway, meaning the whole station was closed while firefighters tackle the blaze
Hanushe Lala, from Streatham in south London, was evacuated from her workplace as a result of the smoke.
‘I was in a meeting at around 9.44am, when the alarms started going off and everyone was looking around to find out if it was real.
‘Then we all got told to leave the building,’ the 24-year-old, who works in facilities management, said.
‘Everything has been cornered off and there’s thick, black smoke pouring out of the archway.
‘All the buildings around us have been evacuated… around half an hour ago the place was swarming with people but now everyone is starting to move away because they’ve told us we won’t be let back in for a while because the fire is so bad and getting worse.’
Network Rail said the fire affecting London Bridge services was in an arch under the railway.
It wrote on Twitter: ‘A fire broke out in an arch under (the) railway.
‘London Fire Brigade are on site with multiple pumps and we have closed the railway until we can confirm it’s safe.’
It added: ‘We’re working with London Fire Brigade and we will need to inspect the railway once the fire out before we can reopen. Thank you for bearing with us.’
According to Network Rail four lines were blocked, and the fire spread to a car park and setting several electric cars ablaze.
Smoke could be seen spreading across multiple track lines, preventing trains from coming or going from the station.
Thameslink has told its customers there are were a number of ongoing incidents which are impacting its services, including the fire at London Bridge.
The company is advising customers to ‘change at East Croydon for a Southern service’ if they need to travel to London Bridge.
The cause if the fire is unknown at this stage, but the Brigade’s fire investigators have begun their investigation into the cause of the fire.
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