Camden News: blaze wrecks flat, Langbourne Avenue, Holly Lodge estate

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Camden News - by SIMON WROE
Published: 24 April 2008

Damage to the building’s roof caused by the fire

Families flee as blaze wrecks flat

FAMILIES were forced to flee their homes when a fire broke out in the early hours of Monday.
Dozens of residents from a block in Langbourne Avenue on the Holly Lodge estate, Highgate, were evacuated after a flat went up in flames at around 2am.
Lily Campbell described the night-time ordeal.
She said: “The fire brigade woke us up, banging on the door. I grabbed my son and ran out in my dressing gown – I thought the whole block was going up.
“You couldn’t see anything because of the smoke.”
Another neighbour described how she had been woken by the apartment’s owner shortly after 2am, asking to use her telephone to phone the emergency services.
She said: “When it was coming through the roof I thought it was coming into my flat.”
It is believed the flat’s occupant was looking after her sister’s three children as well as her son on the night of the fire.
The alarm was sounded by a child in the flat who woke up smelling smoke.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said the fire began in the kitchen, though the exact cause is still under investigation.
Four fire engines and 20 firefighters battled the flames while residents waited outside in the cold.
The third-floor flat and the roof of the building were severely damaged.

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