Emergency crews are fighting a serious fire that has engulfed the upper floors of a nine-storey mixed-use building at the former BBC Television Centre on Wood Lane, White City. Around 100 firefighters attended the site by mid-morning on Saturday, joined by 15 fire engines and two 32-metre turntable ladders used as water towers. A drone team is aiding the operation by providing aerial oversight, while a rest centre has been established for evacuated residents. Authorities have shut Wood Lane to traffic and urged people to avoid the area.
At approximately 3:08 am, the London Fire Brigade received the first call about the blaze and quickly dispatched crews from fire stations across Hammersmith, North Kensington, Kensington, Chiswick and surrounding areas. Flames have spread across the top floors of the building—referred to in reports as the “Helios Building” following its redevelopment into residential flats, a restaurant, a gym and a hotel—alighting exterior decking, ducting and internal spaces.
London Fire Brigade personnel are working alongside the Metropolitan Police to carry out precautionary evacuations in nearby buildings. A rest centre has been put in place for those displaced by the incident.
No casualties have been reported so far, and the cause of the fire remains undetermined. Fire crews are expected to remain on site throughout the day to contain the blaze, which continues to pose risks in the densely populated west London locale.
The location, known historically as the BBC’s former headquarters until about 2012 or 2013, has since been redeveloped and reopened as a mixed-use complex in 2017.
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