Over 100 firefighters attended the incident in the early hours of morning

(Picture London Fire Brigade)

Guests and staff at the Travelodge Hotel in Brentford were evacuated from the building on Wednesday morning (4 December) after a major fire took hold in the early hours.

About 160 people including small children were in the five-storey hotel. The fire brigade was called at 2.52am, receiving 17 999 calls about the incident and had the blaze under control by 6.53am.

The evacuation appears to have been successful and there are no reports of any injuries.

Initially the hotel residents were told to go to a local community hall but London Fire Brigade thought that building may also have been at risk so the evacuees, many of whom were in their night clothes, were moved to the 24 hour McDonalds down the road.

Over 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines attended the blaze which is understood to have first taken hold in a bin storage area at the back of the hotel belonging to the recently renovated St George's Church.

London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner Graham Ellis who was at the scene said, “When firefighters arrived they were faced with a rapidly developing fire. A single storey bin room on the ground floor of a neighbouring building was alight and the fire had already spread to an adjacent hotel of five floors. Fire crews offensive firefighting helped stop the fire spreading further and protected large parts of the building. The Brigade’s Control took seventeen 999 calls to the visible blaze.

Fire crews from Chiswick, Heston, Acton, Richmond, Ealing, Hammersmith, Southall and surround fire stations are at the scene.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by fire officers and the police.

December 5, 2019