Camden Market Fire Sees 70 Firefighters Battle 'Huge' Blaze In North London

'1st, 2nd and 3rd floors, plus the roof, of a building within the market are alight.'
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Seventy firefighters tackled a “huge” blaze at the famous Camden Lock Market in north London early Monday which took several hours to bring under control. 

Emergency services were called to the attraction shortly after midnight after fire took hold in buildings near the Camden Stables.

There are no reports of anyone injured. 

Shortly before 3.30am the London Fire Brigade (LFB) tweeted that the fire was now “under control” and as of 7am, four fire engines and 20 fire fighters remained at the scene “damping down” the aftermath. 

It has been reported that the fire began in a building with an Honest Burger restaurant on the ground floor. 

The LFB said it had sent 10 of its fire engines to the area, while witnesses described seeing “lots of ambulances” racing to the scene.

The market is popular with tourists drawn to the area by the shopping and nightlife on offer.

Witness Joan Ribes, 24, said: “I was just passing by when I saw the fire and they started to get firefighters and police, it was all very fast.

“We called the police to close the street to the traffic because it was very dangerous, the fire was flying through the air to the surrounding areas.

“The fire was moving very fast. People were watching, but we were scared the building could explode at any time since there are restaurants with kitchens nearby.”

A different part of the market complex was ravaged by a fire in 2008, leaving traders without a place to operate for months. There was also a fire there in 2014.

On Monday morning LFB tweeted that “the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors, plus the roof, of a building within the market are alight.

“We now have ten fire engines and over 70 firefighters dealing with the #Camden Lock Market fire. Please avoid the area.”

Footage posted on social media showed flames shooting into the sky while firefighters attempted to douse them.

One witness said: “Just drove past Camden market and there’s a huge fire on top a building, close to the Lock Bridge! Crazy crazy scenes.”

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Hannah Mckay / Reuters

Another witness tweeted: “On a night bus I just passed the start of a big fire in Camden, now at Euston I’ve seen lots of ambulances head north.”

So far there have not been any reports of injuries from the blaze.

A London Ambulance Service (LAS) spokeswoman said: “We were called at 00.07 today (10th July) to reports of a fire at Camden Lock Market.

“We sent a clinical team leader and our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) to the scene.

“We have not treated any patients, and we remain at the scene.”

The Metropolitan Police said it had also been called to the scene.

The LFB said the cause of the fire was unknown at this stage.

The market, which has been based in the area since 1974, has over 1,000 stalls and shops.

Alex Proud, founder of the Proud Galleries in Camden, told the BBC that only about 5-10% of the market had been damaged and “75% of the market is now open”.