CNN
–
More than 100 people were evacuated as flames tore through popular luxury hotels and restaurants in central London on Friday.
“Twenty fire trucks and around 125 firefighters tackled the fire at a hotel on Chiltern Street, Marylebone,” the London Fire Service said in a statement.
The flames start from the ducts and spread from the first floor to the roof of a four-storey hotel called the Chiltern Fire Station, known to be frequented by celebrities.
The unnamed firefighter told the UK’s PA Media News Agency that “the hotel will likely need to undergo major renovations.”
Many reportedly were eating at a restaurant on the first floor celebrating Valentine’s Day.
Hotel owner Andre Baraz told PA Media: I am truly grateful to all of them. Because I’m sure this isn’t the Valentine’s Day night they had in mind. ”
Guy Fishman, 23, from Richmond, southwest London, told PA media that he was shocked when he saw the flames as he left work Friday night.
“My coat now smells smoke,” Fishman told the news agency. “There was really thick smoke and I went into other streets. I went outside and my vision was terrible.”
“The whole street was closed and we could see the smoke from quite a distance…it was crazy,” Fishman added.
According to the London Fire Department, the roof and third floor of the building were completely destroyed, and “about half of the second floor and a small section of the first floor were damaged by the fire.”
There were no reported injuries.
“The crew worked hard for several hours in complex, historically important buildings, under difficult circumstances, Brigade Deputy Director Paul McCourt said in a statement.
The cause of the flame is under investigation.
