Eleven people have been evacuated from their homes this morning after a “catastrophic” structural collapse. Firefighters raced to the scene in Notting Hill, west London in the early hours of Wednesday morning after three roofs suddenly fell through.
They used a ladder to evacuate residents of one of the houses after their exit was blocked by rubble and handed out helmets as a safety precaution. Ambulance crews and the Metropolitan Police also attended the scene owing to reports of people trapped inside the building. There are no believed to be any injuries as a result of the incident.
It is understood that the incident relates to a “catastrophic structural failure” relating to three properties in the area.
Fire crews were first called to the incident at 1.10am with three units being dispatched to scene in west London.
A 32-metre turntable ladder from Paddington Fire Station was also used as an observation tower.
Bricks and rubble could be seen strewn across the street of the upmarket neighbourhood after the front gable end of three properties fell away.
The incident came to a conclusion at around 3am although a police cordon remains in place.
Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said: “The first of our fire engines were on scene within three minutes of being notified about this incident.
“The crews were the first emergency responders to arrive and quickly set about determining whether anyone was still inside the properties. The majority of residents who were still inside were brought to safety by crews via an internal staircase.
“One person, whose home was on the lower ground floor, saw their exit blocked by rubble so firefighters used a ladder to bring them to street level. Residents were also provided with helmets from the fire rescue unit as a precaution as they were leaving the property to protect them in the event of any further falling rubble.”
He added: “Crews carried out a systematic search of the building to check no one else was inside and after liaising with partners at the scene, left the incident in the care of emergency service colleagues and the local authority.”
