Greenford fire: 120 firefighters called to massive blaze at industrial estate in Long Drive - live updates

Commissioner praises crews tackling 'very challenging' fire

The London Fire Brigade Commissioner, Dany Cotton, has praised her colleagues after tackling the “very challenging” blaze in Greenford.

In a tweet, she wrote:

“Excellent work by @LondonFire crews throughout last night and today fighting a very challenging, large scale fire in an industrial complex in Northolt.

“Great to speak to so many crews.”

Commissioner Cotton also gave her thanks to the Salvation Army “for feeding and watering us, we love seeing your smiling faces!”

Firefighters still working to damp down scene

Firefighters will remain throughout the night at the scene of a large fire at an industrial estate on Long Drive in Greenford.

A spokesman for London Fire Brigade said: “Crews will continue to damp down pockets of fire.”

Fire is under control

All we know so far...

A quick click on this link will take you to everything we know so far about the Greenford fire.

'A very visible fire'

Station manager Ben King was at the scene overnight. He said:

This is a very visible fire with around a third of the building alight.

“We would advise nearby residents to keep their windows closed as there is a lot of thick smoke in the area.

“We have a lot of fire engines on the scene so people should avoid the area where possible. We are likely to be on scene for a number of hours.”

'Conditions are challenging for firefighters'

Speaking this morning from the scene, station manager Graham Adams said:

Firefighters were on the scene within minutes of receiving an emergency call last night. This is a massive industrial site and thanks to the hard work of our crews a number of businesses remain unaffected by the fire.

“Three industrial units have been badly affected by the fire and crews are currently working to limit the damage to a fourth unit. Conditions are challenging for firefighters today as the wind has really picked up and this is hampering their efforts.

“The fire is still generating a lot of smoke today, so we are advising local residents to keep doors and windows closed if they are being affected by smoke.

“We will be on scene for the rest of the day and once the fire is completely out, our fire investigation team will be on site to establish how the fire started.”

Recap

Firefighters were called to the industrial estate on Long Drive, Greenford at 11.30pm on Monday night and are still there.

Earlier on Tuesday 120 firefighters were at the scene tackling the flames, which has damaged four units.

There have been no injuries reported.

An investigation into the cause of the blaze will take place in due course.

Rush hour traffic and travel update

Motorists are likely to be hit by traffic and travel disruptions as we approach the evening rush hour as firefighters continue to remain at the scene of the warehouse fire in Greenford.

Here is the latest update on how your journey could be affected as roads remain closed in and around Long Drive.

For more information read our full story on traffic and travel updates in west London.

Rush hour travel warning following Greenford warehouse fire

LFB officer praises crews

LFB officer, Wayne Johnson, spent the night at the scene of the fire in Long Drive. He describes the incident as “very challenging” and praises crews for their hard work in preventing the blaze from spreading to other nearby businesses.

@LFB_Wayne tweeted: “I spent the night at this very challenging incident in Northolt last night. Crews did an excellent job to stop the fire spreading to local businesses.”

Recap, 1.30pm

Right everyone, it’s been a busy morning - here’s a quick recap of what’s happened:

• Fire crews were called to a fire at a block of warehouses in Long Drive, Greenford, shortly before midnight on Monday.
• At the height of the fire, more than 120 firefighters from 20 fire crews attended the scene.
• A thick plume of black smoke could be seen over the Greenford area during the night, with residents reporting having seen it in Twickenham.
• London Fire Brigade has said firefighters will remain at the scene for the rest of the day.

• Residents have been advised to close doors and shut windows - and keep them shut.
• Pictures and video from the scene show a major emergency services presence ongoing.
• A number of roads are expected to be shut or congested during the afternoon rush hour.

Best pics and video from the scene

Right, we’ll bring you a full recap of everything we know at this stage in a moment.

However, it’s wroth just flagging the pictures and video we have from the scene to give you an idea of the scale of this incident.

First, the video, which shows thick smoke belching from a number of warehouses in Long Drive on Tuesday morning as fire crews douse the flames.

Then we have a gallery of images, some from last night courtesy of London Fire Brigade showing the scene when fire crews arrived and some from members of the public and our reporter Goolistan Cooper at the scene on Tuesday morning.

Live from the scene

Our reporter Goolistan Cooper is live from the scene of the fire again in Long Drive.

You can watch his broadcast here.

Here’s a quick recap of the footage we have so far.

Firefighters to remain at scene throughout day

Firefighters who tackled the huge warehouse blaze will remain at the scene throughout the day, according to the London Fire Brigade.

More than 120 firefighters are still at the scene in Long Drive after the fire was first reported at around 11.30pm on Tuesday.

Nearby residents have again been urged to keep their windows and doors closed as LFB remain in the industrial estate.

Check out this article for more information on LFB’s efforts in Long Drive.

See scene of major warehouse fire in Greenford

We’ve pulled together all the best footage from the scene we have to hand so far.

It gives you a pretty good idea of just how big the area is, and from how far afield the smoke could be seen from during the night.

Dramatic image from LFB

Support has come from as far afield as Haringey to assist at the scene.

This image shows just what fire crews were tasked with overnight.

"It's a bit of a worry it's still burning"

One Greenford resident told our reporter:

The fire’s been burning since 11.30. Health and safety procedure is in place and I’ve been told to keep windows closed.

There were no loud sirens last night. The brigade came quietly. It’s a bit of a worry that it’s still burning.

Karty Hirbara, who works on the industrial estate, said:

So many businesses here and in one night everything is lost. It’s a shock to see this. I left at 8.30 last night and everything was fine.

Warehouse units ablaze

First pictures from the scene

We’ve compiled all the first pics we’ve had from the scene into a single gallery below.

Traffic update

Traffic has returned to normal on A40 Western Avenue into town at Greenford Road (Greenford Flyover).

Long Drive remains closed in all directions.

Live from the scene

Our reporter Goolistan Cooper is on the scene now and broadcasting live via our Facebook page.

You can follow the footage here.

Latest from London Fire Brigade

London Fire Brigade has tweeted that firefighters are likely to remain on the scene for the rest of today.

They have also advised people living nearby to keep their doors and windows closed due to the smoke.

More video of fire engines on the scene

Pictures of the fire

We’ve collected all the pictures of the fire - and smoke - so far into a gallery, which you can find here.

Video from the scene

Smoke can be seen "from Twickenham"

Suki Kaur posted on our Facebook page that she could see the smoke from Twickenham.

Karen Franey also sent this picture, from slightly closer:

"It's like the Perivale fire"

Sarah Owne, commenting on Get West London’s Facebook page, said:

“Could smell it this morning from Pinner. It’s like the Perivale fire. So many businesses lost.”

What we know so far

Firefighters were sent to the industrial estate in Long Drive, near Greenford station, at 11.30pm on Monday, and remain at the scene dealing with the fire.

There are no reported casualties, but thick smoke continues to rise into the air around Northolt.

For our full story on what has happened so far, see this link.

Smoke over Northolt

There was still a lot of smoke rising from the fire at around 8am this morning (photos from Michaela Hapgood).

Pictures from the scene

Photos courtesy of London Fire Brigade

Long Drive closed

Long Drive is closed between the A40 Western Avenue and Norwich Road.

There appears to be heavy traffic on the A40 heading into London as it passes the industrial estate, and at the other end of Long Drive, in Greenford town centre.