Hundreds of diners fled an upmarket restaurant and celebrity hangout in London’s Mayfair on Friday night after Christmas decorations caught fire. Dramatic social media videos show panicked diners screaming as they flee the burning restaurant through an archway of flames. More than 30 firefighters rushed to Dover Street’s MNKY HSE Latin American restaurant. As the flames spread, more than 300 people inside the building were evacuated by staff and fellow diners. According to the London Fire Brigade, Christmas decorations inside the restaurant, which is popular with the cast of TV’s Love Island and other celebrities, caught fire, forcing diners to flee into the street. Firefighters were called at 9.20 p.m., but when they arrived, the fire had already been extinguished by staff. Dover Street was closed while crews from Soho, Lambeth, Kensington, and Chelsea fire stations worked to make the scene safe, and London Ambulance Service crews treated a man and a woman on the scene. They were not believed to have been seriously injured. Christmas decorations inside the building were alight and had been extinguished before firefighters arrived,” a London Fire Brigade spokesman said. On-site personnel evacuated approximately 300 people, and crews conducted a thorough search of the property to ensure no one was inside when they arrived. “The Brigade was called at 9.40pm and the incident was over for firefighters by 10.18pm. Five fire engines and approximately 35 firefighters from Soho, Lambeth, Kensington, and Chelsea fire stations responded.” Thermal imaging equipment was used by firefighters to ensure that everything was under control. The cause of the fire is being investigated by the LFB
