London Metropolitan Police are treating as arson, a fire which destroyed a storage warehouse in South East London. The blaze was first discovered at around 2am at industrial units off Yarnton Way in Erith on Saturday morning (21/02/15). Up to 100 firefighters tackled the blaze for over 24 hours.
London Fire Brigade said it received more than 50 emergency calls about the incident. Smoke and flames from the blaze could be seen from miles away.
Fire-fighters managed to stop the blaze from spreading to residential homes, however, two adjacent units and three lorries were damaged in the fire. London Fire Brigade advised people living near the scene to close their doors and windows due to large volumes of smoke. Station Manager Norman Perry said: “Fire crews worked hard to bring this under control. The blaze was in an industrial area and we managed to stop it spreading to any residential homes.”
Met Police said there were no injuries and are appealing for witnesses. Det Ch Insp Gary Holmes said: “Thankfully no-one was hurt during this incident but if anyone had been in the building there is no doubt they would have been killed. The person responsible is still at large and must be caught.”
The fire was brought under control at 5.40am (22/02/15).
