Fire crews tackle self storage unit in Croydon

Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters remain at the large fire at a self-storage warehouse on Purley Way in Croydon. At the height of the fire, the whole of the four storey building was alight. Assistant Commissioner Graham Ellis who is at the scene said: “This is a significant fire at a self-storage warehouse with a large amount of fire loading inside the property which has made it a very challenging incident. “As you can imagine, self storage units are generally full of items like furniture which when packed tightly provide a lot of materials to burn and so these sorts of incidents tend to create large fires that burn hard for a long time creating a lot of smoke. That said, firefighters have worked hard to ensure that while the fire is burning, it is contained and won’t spread to nearby buildings. Currently, a thick plume of smoke is rising from the fire and while most of it is dissipating in the air, it is visible and locals will certainly smell it so do keep windows and doors shut. “Self storage units are technically very difficult fires to manage as well as the fire loading, it’s difficult to know what is being stored which is another reason why we will have lots of appliances in the area for most of today. This is causing a lot of disruption to local roads and Purley Way remains closed. We are working very closely with the police, TLF and local businesses to ease the congestion but if you can avoid the area please do. “Thankfully there were no reports of anyone inside the property at the time of the fire and there were no injuries.” The Brigade was called at 7.47pm and at the height of the incident 20 fire engines and around 120 firefighters were at the scene. The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.