Somerset House fire: 125 firefighters tackle blaze at London arts venue | London

About 125 firefighters have been tackling a blaze at Somerset House in central London.

A pillar of smoke billowed from the roof of the Grade I-listed building on the Strand. London fire brigade (LFB) received its first call about the fire at 11.59am on Saturday and sent 20 fire engines to tackle it.

The LFB added that “around 125” firefighters were on the scene, with crews from Soho, Dowgate, Islington and surrounding fire stations attending.

A spokesperson said: “Crews are tackling flames located in part of the building’s roof. Two of the brigade’s 32-metre ladders have been sent to the scene to support firefighting operations.

“The entire site at Somerset House is now closed to the public whilst we tackle the fire,” the spokesperson added. “Traffic in the surrounding area will be impacted as crews respond.”

The cause of the fire is not yet known but Somerset House posted on social media that all staff and public were safe after the fire broke out in “one small part of the building”.

“The site is closed,” the post said. “The London fire brigade arrived swiftly and we’re working very closely with them to control the spread of the fire.”

The building houses the Courtauld Gallery, an extensive art collection of paintings ranging from the Renaissance through to the 20th century. Among its most famed pieces are Édouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère and Vincent van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear.

The director of Somerset House Trust said the fire broke out in the west wing of the building and there were “no artworks in that area”.

Jonathan Reekie said: “What I can confirm is that a fire was spotted at about midday in one corner of west wing; the site was immediately evacuated and the London fire brigade called, who arrived very quickly indeed.

“Everybody is safe and for now we want to let the London fire brigade get on and do their brilliant work.

“The west wing is mainly offices and back-of-house facilities, there are no artworks in that area.”

A fire alarm was still sounding as he spoke on the edge of the cordon outside the Somerset House arches at about 2.30pm.

Dr Joe Kelly was working on the seventh floor of the Strand building next door when his friend sent him a photograph of the blaze. The 26-year-old physicist then looked out of his window to see clouds of smoke.

“Smoke was billowing out of the corner of Somerset House, which was a little bit terrifying,” he said. “It looked a bit like a scene from a film.”

Kelly added that he could smell the smoke from inside his building, since the windows are usually left open.

“It’s a very distinctly campfire sort of smell, that was the first thing that tipped us off to it,” he said.

“They got hoses on it really quickly and I think the response has been very quick,” he said. “As far as I can tell, no one was harmed and it doesn’t look like there has been a lot of damage.”

The trust is a registered charity established in 1997 “to enhance the education of the public by the provision of a centre for the arts and to maintain the buildings for the benefit of the local and international community as an example of English national heritage”, according to the Charity Commission.

Alan Robinson, 71, a Catholic priest who works nearby and lives in Covent Garden, told PA Media that he was worried about the Courtauld Gallery’s “irreplaceable” art collection.

“I have no idea what the value of the collection is, but it’s millions [of pounds] – irreplaceable stuff,” he said.

A woman who would not give her name but said she works in Somerset House told the news agency that the fire remained localised in one area. “It’s fine,” she said.

Michelle Birkby, 50, expressed her dismay after seeing smoke “billowing out of control” from the top of Somerset House.

“It’s a place I visit quite often and I know it’s beautiful and I really hope they can stop the fire before it does too much damage,” she told PA.