Fire at Kensington Roof Gardens Controlled, No Injuries

Firefighters brought a blaze under control at the exclusive Kensington Roof Gardens members club in West London early Monday morning, with no injuries reported among the approximately 40 people who had already evacuated the nine-storey building.

The London Fire Brigade received the first call about the fire at 12:57 a.m. on January 26 and dispatched 12 fire engines and around 80 firefighters from stations in Kensington, Hammersmith, Chelsea and surrounding areas to the venue on Kensington High Street. Crews arrived to find the flames concentrated in a plant room on the roof, which was completely destroyed. One of the brigade's 32-metre turntable ladders served as an observation tower, giving the incident commander an aerial view of the scene. The fire was fully under control by 3:36 a.m., after nearly three hours of effort.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the London Fire Brigade. Officials noted that the blaze was confined to an external area on the sixth floor, with no damage reported inside the building. Office workers in the lower levels were evacuated and told to stay away due to potential smoke exposure, leading to some disruptions in the area as...