Roughly 100 firefighters heroically battled a large fire at a Travelodge in West London over night.
A total of fifteen fire engines were in attendance at the Travelodge on Brentford High Street. By all accounts, the blaze began in a bin room but the cause is yet to be investigated.
Smoke was seen rising from the building and major concerns have been raised about the cladding on the exterior of the building.
“When firefighters arrived they were faced with a rapidly developing fire,” said the London fire brigade (LFB) assistant commissioner Graham Ellis. “A single-storey bin room on the ground floor 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. Fire crews will be damping down pockets of fire and carrying out salvage work throughout the morning.”
Reg Williams, a guest at the hotel, said that he was especially concerned for the cladding of the building:
“The fire crews had the hoses in that cladded area for ages,” he said. “I’m concerned that cladding is still attached to buildings. The fire was quite big, the flames were 20 metres high. It really went up quickly.”
As a result of the blaze, guests were quickly moved to nearby Travelodge hotels.
The fire brigade was initially called just before 3am, and the fire was under control before 7am.
Hounslow council set up a rest centre to help those in need. The high street in Brentford was understandably closed in both directions. Similarly, the fire brigade asked locals to stay clear of the area where possible.
Niall Bolger, the chief executive of Hounslow Council, said:
“Our first concern is the safety of the people involved and we understand that there are no casualties and 162 people were safely evacuated from the hotel. We have officers at the scene to help those affected.
“We will continue to work with our partners in the emergency services, with Travelodge and the local community, and provide ongoing help and support.”
