London fires

As noted elsewhere on here, a big fire in E&C yesterday:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/elephant-and-castle-station-fire-london-b943021.html

Passed by today, the bike shop under the arches was shuttered and scorched on the outside. Fire investigators still on the scene.

A horrible house fire in Bexleyheath, two women and two children dead:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/bexleyheath-house-fire-two-women-children-killed-b967107.html

RIP.

Forgot about this thread, this happened just now in Plumstead. The fire station is just down the road so it got put out really quickly.

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Not massively destructive but quite a ffs how fucking sad are you that you have to take a barbecue to a park you dim wankers, fire

https://twitter.com/MordenHallPkNT/status/1551484876196651008?s=20&t=eNlS_n2Q2DWu1vy2gFbXFA

Looks like the fire engine barely fit between the parked cars!

Something similar happened by the Thames Path between Woolwich and Thamesmead.
I think it started by the river side and jumped over the path and set the trees and grass on fire there.
Needed 65 fire fighters and a fire boat to stop it.

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Here is another one close to Erith from last Thursday. When I saw the fires from my window I knew one of them was in this spot because the local shitheads start fires there constantly.

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https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/st-marks-church-fire-cause-london-vicar-service-st-johns-wood-b1056451.html

Some more info on the Wennington fire last year:

The village, on the edge of east London, was among the worst affected locations during the peak of the heatwave on July 19, 2022, with fires destroying 19 homes.

[...]

The deputy commissioner said the speed with which the fire spread at Wennington “was something that if I’m honest I haven’t seen in 24 years in my fire service career”.

At one point during the blaze, the fire was seen leaping across a two-lane road from one side to the other.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/summer-heatwave-london-fire-brigade-wildfire-wennington-b1065492.html

Hoping against hope that it'll be less excessively hot this year.

A fire in Cricklewood today. I hope this isn't another battery fire. Somehow it feels as if it could be.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/fire-cricklewood-broadway-north-london-shop-flats-smoke-b1075758.html

Here:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5572502,-0.2158585,3a,83.7y,9.02h,111.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1smk4FUF9yu_i0Gmoq2qu-Fg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

A little fire near the construction site on the north side of the Woolwich ferry, yesterday.

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Picture posted by @seager in the Weather thread:

Lightning strike set the Wimbledon clock tower on fire today. Mad.

Took a picture of the wrong side of it but you can see the flames creeping through from the other side.

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/14834054/­

If there had been a fire in the other arch too, this pic would have won the Hidden Faces thread hands down.

A bad fire at Forest Gate Police Station, a large building:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5469226,0.0311059,3a,75y,205.85h,95.04t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sryFsoSI5KKCqX6ga6hrKEw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/forest-gate-fire-police-station-london-fire-brigade-b1143639.html

A totally non-suspicious fire at a listed and neglected historic pub:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/apr/20/fire-partly-destroys-grade-ii-listed-london-pub

Unfortunately it was always a fairly crap pub in a crappy location so struggled to be viable. No doubt it’ll get flattened and more “luxury living” flats will spring up on the site

I don't doubt you're right that it was badly-managed in the past, but I'm sure we can agree that the loss of such a lovely building would be a tragedy. I also don't really doubt that it could have been made viable as a pub. It always just depends on the quality of the management. If it's a good, welcoming place, with good drink and/or food, people will come. I don't know the area at all, but I've seen many unloved places transformed in this way pretty much anywhere I can think of. Location is less important than one might think.

While I lazily assumed it was arson at first, it turns out that it was squatted and so the fire may have been an accident (as I don't want to believe that anyone with commercial interest in the site would commit arson while the building was occupied). More background, with pictures of the fire:

https://insidecroydon.com/2024/04/20/burn-bullock-pub-fire-mitchams-history-was-lost-tonight/

Not sure it can be saved--with the right investment, it could, but otherwise this looks final:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg3084z8jkmo

Sad.

. I also don't really doubt that it could have been made viable as a pub.

It’s on a bit of mitcham with really shit public transport, on the corner of a very busy junction with a two carriage way road and it had, iirc, no decent outdoor space. It was always a bit dingy inside as well . There used to be four pubs there within one hundred yards, one of which had a much better location and I think they may all be closed now. Also having worked in Mitcham, near this particular pub ( I used to drink in quite regularly) and living a couple of miles away I wouldn’t drink in any pub in Mitcham.

Sorry, missed this yesterday. You sound like a bit of a Mitcham pubs underuser. :)

I repeat, any pub can be brought back into use if it's well-managed--it's that which attracts people. Good beer, good food, good company, and events. The problem is that it's not nearly as lucrative any more as developing ridiculously-overvalued flats. This is not confined to pubs only but exists for most commercial or industrial uses in London today. I'm sure it may be difficult to imagine if you've known the area for a while, but areas change, and a good pub can contribute to that, of course. While the number of pubs has been going down because of the massive development of home 'entertainment', in London the population density has also been climbing, which will even affect a relatively low-density (by London standards, not by those of most other places) outer London place like Mitcham. All that said, if there's no willingness by the owner(s) to undertake that venture, it won't happen.

Here's another example of development pressure that may or may not have something to do with fires occurring, Croydon this time:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/windmill-pub-croydon-fire-drum-and-monkey-b1153378.html

A fire in Hackney, on the Pembury Estate--one of the east-west blocks north of Dalston Lane and west of Clarence Road:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-fire-brigade-hackney-fire-dalston-lane-b1162427.html

Everyone seems to be safe, but there will undoubtedly be much loss of property, not to mention having to find new homes for some.

A huge fire somewhere towards Dagenham

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Cycle Stop on West Green Rd https://maps.app.goo.gl/pQvghqwx2JkfZ3z3A burned down yesterday. Catered more for the deliveroo end of the scale than shiny, expensive things, looked pretty serious and the road is still closed the next day.

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Sad to see. Could it have been a battery fire? Nothing on-line yet that I can find.

Indeed, a battery fire. This report suggests that it started with a battery fire above the shop, but later affected batteries stored in the shop.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/cycle-shop-tottenham-ebike-battery-fire-b1169695.html

Obviously no suggestion the shop did anything unsafe. Above was probably a private flat. Terible luck. I hope they're insured and manage to get back on their feet.