Fire crews hampered tackling ‘hot news’ blaze in Limehouse newsagent’s as staircase collapses

Emergency fire crews were hampered tackling a blaze in a shop with flats above in Limehouse during the night when a staircase was burned away.

Ladder that had to be brought in during blaze at Limehouse when staircase collapsed. Picture source: LFB - Credit: LFB

The fierce blaze swept through a ground floor newsagent’s storeroom and half of the staircase to flats on the first floor above in the main Commercial Road at 3.30am.

Six crews and 35 firefighters and officers were called to the corner-shop blaze from Shadwell, Whitechapel, Poplar and Bethnal Green fire stations.

“Part of the staircase had burnt away and it made it more difficult to get to the fire,” Shadwell’s watch-manager Matthew Hyde said. “The crews worked hard in tricky conditions to tackle this fire.”

The crews had to bring a ladder to the side of the building in the side street to use as a “safe descent” back down.

The fire took two hours to bring under control, while Commercial Road had to be closed to traffic. But there were no reports of injuries.

The cause of the fire is being looked into by London Fire Brigade investigators.