Restaurant fire - Wembley

Fifteen fire engines and around 100 firefighters were called to a fire at a building on High Road in Wembley.

The multi-purpose building consisted of single shops and a restaurant on the ground and lower ground floors and a hotel on the first and second floor. The ground floor kitchen of the restaurant and the ducting (extraction system) from the ground to the second floor were destroyed by the blaze. Part of the lower ground floor was also damaged.

One man left the building before the Brigade arrived. He was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and was taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service crews.

Station Commander Dave Hill, who was at the scene, said: "Firefighters were faced with heavy smoke issuing from the building on arrival.

"Our Control Officers took a large number of calls to the blaze due to the amount of smoke.

"The building is on the junction with Ealing Road and there were a number of local road closures in place so traffic was heavy. We advised motorists to avoid the area."

The Brigade's 999 Control Officers took 15 calls to the blaze.

The Brigade was called at 0858 and the fire was under control by 1337, but crews will remain on scene throughout the afternoon. Fire crews from Park Royal, Northolt, Willesden, Acton and surrounding fire stations were at the scene. 

The cause of the fire is believed to be a pan of cooking oil which was left unattended.

Firefighters' tips for safer cooking:

• Don’t leave cooking unattended on the hob or grill – if you have to leave the kitchen, turn off the heat.
• Not feeling 100%? Order a takeaway – if you're very tired, have been drinking alcohol or are taking medication that might make you drowsy, it's safer not to risk it.
• Try to keep the oven, hob, cooker hood, extractor fan and grill clean – built up fat and grease can ignite and cause a fire.
• Double check the cooker and hob are turned off when you’ve finished cooking