A woman spent New Year’s Eve in hospital and 40 of her neighbours had to be evacuated after a fire at a block of flats
in Chiswick.
Six engines and more than 30 firefighters were sent to the scene in Edensor Gardens at 3pm on Tuesday after reports of an explosion.
Witnesses claimed to have heard a sound like a bomb going off and shortly afterwards flames were seen coming from the ground floor of the three-storey block.
Three men had managed to rescue a woman from the building before the brigade arrived and she was later taken to hospital by the air ambulance.
Two of the three men involved in the rescue were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and around 40 people were led to safety while the blaze was tackled.
Firefighters got the blaze under control by 4.10pm and structural engineers were immediately on site to assess when people could return to their homes.
The cause of the blaze, which was rumoured to involve gas, was still being investigated as the Chronicle went to press.
