Firefighters are sharing their top tips for restaurant and café owners after a café fire on Montrose Place in Belgravia.
Half of a kitchen on the first floor and part of the roof were damaged by fire. The extraction system from the first floor to the roof was also destroyed by the blaze. There were no reports of any injuries.
The fire was discovered by a member of staff who smelt burning and located the fire on the first floor. They then alerted another member of staff and left the building.
The Brigade’s fire investigators believe the fire was caused by an ignition of hot oil in the deep fat fryer, which spread and ignited a build up of fat and grease within the ducting.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “On arrival, crews saw smoke coming from the roof of the building and staff informed them that the fire was in the kitchen on the first floor. Firefighters used specialist cutting equipment to cut away parts of the roof to access the fire and quickly bring it under control.
“Chip pans and cooking with hot oil can be really dangerous and the risk increases when you start frying food more than once.
“All it can take is for you to become distracted for a few seconds and your cooking oil can quickly go up in flames. You should never leave cooking on the hob unattended.
"We'd like to remind restaurant and takeaway owners to ensure they don't have dirty ducting. If you don't clean the ducting in your extraction system regularly, you're at a greater risk of ducting fires.
"You should also make sure you keep the hob, cooker hood and extractor fan clean too –built up fat and grease can ignite and cause a fire."
Firefighters' top tips for restaurants and takeaways:
The Brigade was called at 0655 and the fire was under control by 0733. Two fire engines and around 10 firefighters from Soho Fire Station attended the scene.