Emergency services were called at 12:31pm today (June 27) to tackle a fire blaze which took hold in a ground floor flat in Kennington, London.
Sixty firefighters and eight fire engines were dispatched to the 16-storey tall block of flats and they managed to bring the fire under control within 45 minutes.
At least 12 adults and six children have been treated by ambulance on the scene, according to a statement by the London Fire Brigade.
They also stated that the flat where the fire started has been severely damaged, however, the rest of the building managed to escape the horrific blaze. The London Ambulance Service confirmed that the 18 people treated at the scene were suffering from minor smoke inhalation and were all discharged.
A spokesperson said, “We sent two ambulance crews, a medic in a fast response car, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer and our Hazardous Area Response Team to the scene. The first ambulance arrived in less than four minutes.”
The LFB station commander at the scene, Ned Alexander, added: “Firefighters have worked exceptionally hard to get this flat fire under control.”
“The whole of the first floor flat is damaged by the blaze but crews have prevented in spreading further. Around 100 people self-evacuated from the building and a number of other residents stayed within their flats.”
Although the whereabouts of the blaze was identified, it is not yet clear what started the fire.