Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters were called to a fire at an unoccupied nursery on Wilde Close in Haggerston.
Part of the basement was affected by the fire. Six contractors who were working on the building, which is currently under refurbishment, left before crews arrived.
The Brigade was called at 1148 and the fire was under control by 1326. Fire crews from Shoreditch, Homerton, Islington, Stoke Newington and Poplar fire stations attended the incident.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.