Ilford restaurant fire on Woodford Ave arson suspected, five injured

A major fire at a restaurant on Woodford Avenue in Gants Hill, Ilford, east London, late on Friday left five people injured, three of them in a life-threatening condition, as emergency services rescued those trapped inside and worked to contain the blaze. Nine others escaped before firefighters arrived, and investigators are treating the incident as a possible arson attack while examining the cause.

The first reports of the fire came at around 9pm, with part of the ground floor damaged as crews from multiple stations arrived to battle the flames. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus rescued five people from the restaurant, and the London Ambulance Service treated five others for burns and smoke inhalation. Two patients were taken to a major trauma centre and three to local hospitals. The fire was declared under control around 10.32pm, with firefighters continuing to work at the scene into the night to ensure the blaze was fully extinguished.

Investigators from the London Fire Brigade and the Metropolitan Police said the fire is being probed as a possible arson attack, and no arrests had been made at the time of the updates. The Met’s Central Specialist Crime North unit said...