Huge fire at Mayfair mansion

Over 100 firefighters and 20 fire engines attended a huge blaze in a Grade-I listed building in central London.

The fire broke out at the five-storey terraced house in Mayfair at around 5.30 am on Saturday 4th February.

Several local streets were closed off during the fire for safety reasons. These include Grafton Street, Albermarle Street, Dover Street and Bond Street.

The fire spread from the third and fourth floors but did not affect any other properties on the street.

Margot Armstrong who works in a shop nearby said: “When I arrived at work, there was just thick black smoke and fire engines back to Piccadilly. It is so sad. It is such a beautiful house, I used to walk past and think ‘What what a beautiful building’. We gave some of the firemen some tea – they looked sick from all the smoke.”

Mick Sayer, station manager at Southwark fire station, said at the scene: “Firefighters are working really hard to bring the fire under control as quickly as possible so that normality can be restored to the area. The occupants of the building had left the premises through the front door before we arrived. We have had 100 firefighters, 20 fire appliances and three aerial ladder platforms. There was a serious fire on the fourth and fifth floor. We have had to carry out considerable damage control work to reduce the damage caused by the water jets.”

The building was built in 1722 and was recently bought for around £13 million.

It is not yet known how the fire started but it is not thought to be suspicious.