Smoke is seen rising into the sky from a hearth positioned within the roof of Somerset Home beside the River Thames in London on August 17, 2024. Round 100 firefighters tackled a big blaze at London’s historic Somerset Home cultural centre on Saturday, with pictures posted on social media exhibiting flames leaping out from beneath its roof.
| Picture Credit score: AFP
Round 125 firefighters tackled a big blaze at London’s historic Somerset Home Cultural centre on Saturday, with flames leaping out from beneath its roof.
“Twenty fireplace engines and round 125 firefighters at the moment are responding to the hearth at Somerset Home. Crews are persevering with to work at bringing the hearth within the constructing’s roof underneath management,” the London Fireplace Brigade posted on X, previously Twitter.
The official X account of the Renaissance constructing, which opened in 1796, mentioned that “owing to a hearth in a single small a part of Somerset Home, the positioning is at the moment closed.” It added that “all workers and public are secure.”
The advanced is house to the Courtauld Gallery, which homes priceless work, together with Vincent van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear.”
Different footage taken from central London confirmed thick plumes of smoke rising above the constructing, which stretches for round 180 metres alongside the banks of the River Thames.
The courtyard of the grand constructing hosts music gigs in the summertime and a preferred ice rink within the winter, showing within the 2003 movie “Love Really”.
It has additionally appeared in two James Bond movies, the 2008 film “The Duchess”, starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes, and Tim Burton’s 1999 horror film “Sleepy Hole”.
The hearth service mentioned two 32-metre ladders had been despatched to the scene to help firefighting operations.
“Your entire web site at Somerset Home is now closed to the general public while we deal with the hearth. Visitors within the surrounding space will probably be impacted as crews reply,” it added.
