A FIRE broke out in a flat above shops in Kenton in the middle of the night.
Thirty firefighters attended the blaze at the first floor property in Kenton Road, Kenton, at the junction of Mayfield Avenue at just before 3am.
Eight people left the building before the crews arrived, and a further nine people living adjacent to the flat were evacuated as a precaution. Nobody was injured.
The firefighters extinguished the flames within 2 1/2 hours.
Half of the loft conversion room was damaged, as was 10 per cent of the second floor, the London Fire Brigade reported.
Kenton Road was closed both ways between Upton Gardens and Nash Way by the police, with buses being diverted to early this morning.