On the evening of 19 April 2024, emergency services responded to a large fire at a derelict Grade II-listed pub in the London Borough of Merton.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) dispatched around 12 fire appliances and 80 firefighters to tackle the blaze at the Burn Bullock pub in Mitcham, which included crews from Norbury, Wimbledon, Tooting, and surrounding fire stations.
Locals were advised to avoid the area, and keep windows and doors closed as firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control, with images taken at the scene showing the roof of the historic building engulfed in flames and plumes of smoke surrounding the site. It is understood that the London Ambulance Service assessed one person on scene.
The Brigade utilised two 32-metre turntable ladders as water towers to douse the flames from a height, and as a precautionary measure, two gas cylinders were removed from the building as “some cylinders can explode when exposed to heat,” LFB said.
Several hours later, the fire was brought under control. LFB confirmed that half of the building's ground, first, and second floors had been damaged by fire. Much of the roof had also been destroyed. The Brigade stated that firefighters had been “working incredibly hard to bring the pub fire under control”, and crews remained on the scene dampening down hotspots.
As reported by BBC News, the historic pub had been shut for 10 years and had fallen into disrepair, with local businesses and residents adding that it had been “disgracefully neglected for years”.
Described as being in “very bad” condition, the building had been part of Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register, where it is stated that the building had been “illegally occupied as a House in Multiple Occupation” and had “suffered associated deterioration”.
The Mitcham Cricket Green Community & Heritage group, which had shared updates of firefighters battling the blaze, said they would be calling on the local council to restore the damaged pub:
“The shock and hurt expressed by so many local residents in their reactions to the fire confirms the importance of the Burn Bullock to our neighbourhood. The fire needs to mark a turning point in the sorry history of this neglected site.”
LFB has since stated that the cause of the fire is “currently undetermined” due to the “unsafe structure of the building”.
(Photograph by London Fire Brigade)