A section of the Picadilly line remains closed after firefighters were called to a fire underneath railway arches
London Fire Brigade (LFB) received approximately 40 calls in the early hours of Friday 4 July reporting a fire at a site in South Harrow involving a commercial site situated in railway arches over which the Picadilly line runs.
Crews from Northolt, Harrow, Wembley, Stanmore, Ruislip, and surrounding fire stations attended the scene, with LFB reporting that an “unknown number of gas cylinders at the site are believed to have exploded during the early stages of the incident.” Crews also safely removed two further cylinders and cooled them to an ambient temperature.
The LFB statement also confirmed two 32-metre turntable ladders were deployed as water towers along with a drone to provide the Incident Commander with a greater situational awareness of the incident.
The fire was brought under control by 4am and there were no reports of any injuries, however a section of the Piccadilly line between South Harrow and Uxbridge remained closed going into Friday morning, causing serious travel disruption for commuters.
LFB Station Commander Graham Beers, who was at the scene, said: "Crews were faced with a substantial fire affecting multiple commercial units situated within a railway arches. Whilst most of the fire has now been extinguished, firefighters will remain on scene through today (Friday) putting out deep-seated pockets of fire, dampening down hotspots and ensuring the scene is safe.
"We asked people in the local area to keep their windows and doors closed during the height of the fire due to smoke travel. Road closures remain in place in Roxeth Green Avenue, near the junction of The Arches, and are expected to remain in place whilst we continue to work at the scene."
The cause of the fire is under investigation.