Fire in 19-storey London tower block tackled by 100 firefighters

Up to 120 people have been safely removed from the building

The blaze at the 19-storey block of flats in St Mark's Square, Bromley, south-east London on Sunday. PA

Around 100 firefighters are battling a fire at a 19-storey tower block in Bromley, south-east London.

Footage from the scene showed thick black smoke rising over the high-rise block in St Mark’s Square on Sunday afternoon.

Up to 120 people were escorted out of the tower by firefighters and there have been no reports of injuries.

The fire was on the 15th floor, London Fire Brigade said, adding that 15 fire engines had responded after the alarm was raised at about noon. Half of a five-room flat was alight and part of the roof was also on fire.

“It's a very visible fire and the brigade's 999 Control centre has received 95 calls alerting them to the fire,” LFB said in a statement.

“Fire crews are using a 64-metre turntable ladder to tackle the fire.

“Around 120 people evacuated the building and no injuries are reported.”

Station Commander Colin Digby, at the scene, said: “Crews are making steady progress. This is going to be a protracted incident and we expect our crews to be on scene for several hours to come.”

The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.

Josh Gill, 29, a Co-op team leader from Bromley, described how witnesses were upset and in shock as they watched firefighters battle the blaze.

“I literally live on the doorstep," she told the PA news agency. “I was in my flat and my mother-in-law came over to pick up my wife’s niece who stayed over last night, and as she came she said about the fire and saw all the fire brigade appear and (I) went to have a look.

“Some people were upset and crying whilst others were shocked and confused as to what was going on. The fire brigade are still here and you can see people who live in the flats evacuated in the church.

“It is scary to see this right on the doorstep as I have a family.”

Rowland Leslie, 63, who lives near the tower, said: “I was just walking down to come to Bromley and I don’t think it had started long before that because the fire engines were just coming.

“Where there is the slant of the building there are balconies and flames were burning ferociously at the start.

“I have been in Bromley for over an hour and where I was it looked like the fire had been put out, but in the last 20 minutes it looks like it must have started up again.”