Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters were called to a fire in East Twickenham on Friday, 18 July.

The fire involved a three-storey mixed-use building on on Richmond Road, made up of a shop on the ground floor and flats above, confirm the London Fire Brigade (LFB).

The roof and second floor was damaged along with part of the first floor and ground floor. An outbuilding was also destroyed by fire. 

One man was taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service.

LFB say the fire was producing a large amount of smoke and people in the area were advised to keep windows and doors closed.

The Brigade received the first of 34 calls at 4:38pm and Control Officers have mobilised crews from Richmond, Twickenham, Chiswick, Acton and surrounding fire stations to the scene.

The roof and second floor was damaged along with part of the first floor and ground floor by the fire (credit: London Fire Brigade).

A 32-metre turntable ladder from Clapham Fire Station is also in attendance and is being used as a water tower to help extinguish the fire from above. The fire was brought under control by 6:20pm.

The blaze is believed to have been caused by the unsafe disposal of smoking materials near a timber storage shed.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: "If you smoke it is vitally important you stub it right out, preferably in an ashtray.

"Always ensure your cigarette is completely out when you've finished smoking it.

"If you don't, you risk causing a fire as you don't know what it may land on which could potentially start a fire."

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called at 4.55pm on Friday 18 July to reports of a fire on Richmond Road, Twickenham.

"We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and paramedics from our hazardous area response team (HART).

"We treated a patient at the scene and took them to a local hospital."

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