Update: Firefighters put out blaze near Woolwich’s Royal Arsenal
Update: Firefighters have put out a blaze at a Berkeley Homes building site on Arsenal Way, Woolwich this afternoon.
Four fire engines and 21 firefighters and officers from Greenwich, East Greenwich and Plumstead attended the incident, and the fire was extinguished in just under an hour.
Station manager Joe Kenny, who was at the scene, said: “The compressor was in an open area on the first floor, close to an unfinished section of the building. If firefighters hadn’t acted fast it could have spread very quickly along exposed timbers and into the building under construction, but thankfully it was brought under control at an early stage.”
The brigade said the fire was caused by a diesel compressor on the first floor of a building in Woolwich, which was destroyed in the blaze. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Karl Whiteman, divisional managing director of Berkeley Homes said in a statement: "I am pleased to confirm that no one was injured during the incident."
Whiteman added that the investigator said Berkeley Homes have nothing to answer for, and that it was impressed with management system in place as well as how the situation was managed.
Social media users posted pictures of the fire, showing that smoke was visible across a wide distance.
https://twitter.com/EmsieJeaine/status/603565496357781504
https://twitter.com/LBaszko/status/603563512808534016
https://twitter.com/IAmBenAnderson/status/600320821610061824
https://twitter.com/Albert_Albs/status/603570161514369025
https://twitter.com/PeripateNic/status/603565730588708864
The A206 was closed as a result of the fire, but has since been reopened Transport for London confirmed.
https://twitter.com/TfLTrafficNews/status/603571126397235200
More to follow…