London – More than 100 people were forced to evacuate a luxury London hotel, a favourite celebrity haunt that was once a fire station, when a Valentine’s Day blaze broke out, firefighters said.

The London Fire Brigade said on X that they had about “20 fire engines and around 125 firefighters at the scene of the #Marylebone hotel fire” after it first erupted in the afternoon on Feb 14.

A fire service press officer told AFP at the scene that they had made “good progress”, while Mr Andre Balazs, owner of the Chiltern Firehouse hotel, said the blaze had been “fully contained” with no injuries, according to the Press Association.

The fire broke out in the ducts of the five-star hotel but the cause “is not known at this stage”, the fire brigade said.

“There is a fire in the ducting which leads from the ground floor to the roof of the four-storey hotel with a restaurant on the ground floor,” the Fire Brigade said, adding that about 100 people had already left the building before the firefighters arrived.

The Chiltern Firehouse, which dates back to 1889, was one of London’s first purpose-built fire stations, before being renovated and restored by Mr Balazs, an American businessman and hotelier.

It is popular with A-listers and was the venue for pop star Kylie Minogue’s 50th birthday party in 2018.

Mr Balazs said the hotel would be closed “until further notice”. AFP

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