Chiltern Firehouse closed indefinitely after fire rips through iconic building

Chiltern Firehouse, the luxury restaurant and hotel in central London, will be closed indefinitely after a fire ripped through the celebrity hangout on Valentine’s Day.

Around 100 diners were evacuated on Friday afternoon when smoke was spotted shortly before 3pm.

Photos and video taken at the scene show bright orange flames engulfing the top of the building being doused by fire officers from a crane, while grey smoke billows out of the roof.

The Grade II listed venue in Marylebone is frequented by celebrities and was the venue for Kylie Minogue’s 50th birthday party in 2018.

The restaurant and hotel, which was once a fire station, is owned by Andre Balazs, whose property portfolio also includes Hollywood hotel Chateau Marmont, another celebrity haunt.

He said in a statement: ‘Earlier this evening, a fire broke out at Chiltern Firehouse.

‘We are grateful to confirm that no one was hurt, and our guests and staff safely evacuated. The fire has now been fully contained.

‘It is with heartfelt gratitude and appreciation that we watched a remarkable 140 fire fighters from over 20 stations rapidly descend on what they told me was a hugely sentimental building for so many of them.

‘We know in fact one of those who rushed to the Chiltern Firehouse this evening had been stationed in the building when it was a fire station 30 years ago.

‘I am truly grateful to all of them as I am sure that this is not the Valentine’s Day evening they had in mind.

‘As of now, as this is still a live situation, we do not have confirmation of what may have caused the fire, but the fire services are investigating.

‘In the meantime, the Chiltern Firehouse will remain closed until further notice.’

Speaking near the scene, a firefighter said: ‘It’s (the fire) completely under control in there now, but the hotel is probably going to need a large refurbishment.’

One member of staff arrived for work to find the iconic venue ablaze. He told Metro: ‘It is shocking. I just hope everyone is okay.’

How Matcha at the end of the street is giving out free hot drinks to the dozens of evacuated guests huddling in the cold.

The owner told Metro there was ‘not as much smoke as now, and then it went up in flames’.

He added: ‘It’s quite a sad moment not only for the building but for the community as well.’

A recent graduate walking home from work said he saw ‘embers’ and an ‘orange glow’ coming from a window at the Chiltern Firehouse.

Guy Fischman, 23, from Richmond, London, was leaving his workplace near Bond Street when he said he saw ‘the whole street full of smoke’.

‘My coat stinks of smoke right now,’ Mr Fischman said. ‘There was really thick smoke and it got into the other street as well. I walked out and the visibility was awful.

‘I did not expect it to be so bad especially seeing the embers coming from the window at the top because it was so dark you can just see the orange glow and they (the firefighters) were really trying to fight it with the water jets.’

In a statement, the LFB said: ‘There is a fire in ducting which leads from the ground floor to the roof of the four-storey hotel with a restaurant on the ground floor. A plant room at roof level is also alight.

‘Around one hundred people have evacuated the building before the brigade arrived.’

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