The Chiltern Firehouse in Marylebone may be closed for the rest of the year after a fire caused by wood falling from a pizza oven swept through the building on Valentine’s Day. More than 100 guests and staff were evacuated and 125 firefighters brought the blaze under control. No injuries were reported.
The fire started shortly before the evening service, spreading though the space between the basement and ground floor then up four storeys via the extraction system to the roof.
The late-Victorian Grade II listed building was originally a fire station before its 2013 conversion into a celeb-friendly restaurant and boutique hotel – an irony not lost on its owner, American hotelier André Balazs, who paid tribute to the efforts of London Fire Brigade to save it.
He said: “It is with heartfelt gratitude and appreciation that we watched a remarkable 120 fire fighters from over 14 stations rapidly descend on what they told me was a hugely sentimental building for so many of them. We know in fact one of those who rushed to the Chiltern Firehouse this evening had been stationed in the building when it was a fire station 30 years ago.
“I am truly grateful to all of them as I am sure that this is not the Valentine’s Day evening they had in mind.” He added: “We are grateful to confirm that no one was hurt, and our guests and staff safely evacuated.“
London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Paul McCourt said: “Crews worked incredibly hard for over eight hours in arduous conditions. Presented with a complex fire in a historically significant building, formerly Manchester Square Fire Station, firefighters successfully contained the fire, preventing it from spreading to neighbouring properties.“
The Children Firehouse is now closed until further notice.
