About 80 firefighters from the London Fire Brigade (LFB) are tackling a large blaze at a four-storey block of flats on Maysoule Road in Battersea, south-west London, the brigade said. The entire top floor and the building's roof were reported to be alight, and crews were using a 105ft (32-metre) turntable ladder as a water tower to attack the flames from above.
Fire crews wearing breathing apparatus evacuated the building while firefighters worked to bring the fire under control. Three people were treated by paramedics at the scene and one was taken to hospital, the brigade said. The cause of the fire is not known at this stage and will be the subject of an investigation once the scene is made safe.
The LFB described the incident as significant given the extent of the fire on the top floor and roof. Officers established a safety cordon and worked to prevent the blaze spreading to neighbouring properties. Specialist appliances and breathing apparatus teams were deployed to conduct both external and internal firefighting and search operations.
Emergency services responded quickly after the fire was reported. Crews prioritised evacuation and casualty care while positioning the turntable ladder to provide an elevated water jet, a tactic commonly used to fight fires on upper floors and roofs. Firefighters continued to damp down hotspots and check for further fire spread as operations progressed.
Local residents were urged to avoid the area to allow emergency services to operate and to reduce exposure to smoke. LFB said enquiries into the cause would begin once it was safe to do so and that updates would be provided as the situation developed.
The incident is one of several significant residential fires the LFB has attended in recent years, underscoring the brigade's capacity to mobilise large numbers of personnel and specialised equipment to protect life and property. Further information will be released by the London Fire Brigade and the ambulance service as they continue their work at the scene.