Twenty fire trucks and more than 125 personnel were deployed this Saturday to try to put out a fire in the emblematic building of Somerset Houselocated in central London and on the banks of the River Thames, according to the Fire Brigade of the British capital. Hours later and early in the evening, they said that it was “under control.”

Speaking at a press conference outside the building, London Fire Brigade Deputy Commissioner Keeley Foster said the building’s age and design were a “challenge” for the more than one hundred personnel deployed, who had to carry out a “complex and technical” response when facing this fire, the causes of which are still unknown.

As a result, according to Foster, the spread of the flames was limited by the creation of firebreaks on the roof of Somerset House – the part most affected by the fire – as well as with cranes and “four aerial ladders of the brigade, including a 64-metre rotating technical ladder”.

The deputy commissioner also commented that the fire brigade teams have been working “incredibly hard” under very hot weather to protect the building from further damage and confirmed that there are no reports of injuries and that teams will remain on site until tomorrow to carry out further operations.

The works of art are safe

“It is still too early to comment on the state of the building but, thanks to the efforts of the emergency services, I am confident that the damage only affects part of the complex,” added the director of Somerset House, Jonathan Reekie. Parts of Somerset House will remain closed to the public until further notice and “while the Fire Brigade continues its operations and investigations”, but other areas, such as the art gallery and the Courtauld Institute will reopen this Sunday.

The fire originated in the west wing of the building, which mainly houses the offices and other auxiliary services of Somerset House, so it did not affect any of the works of art in the complex. The Courtauld Gallery, located in the north wing of Somerset House, houses a collection of famous paintings, including the ‘Self-portrait with bandaged ear and easel’ (1889), by the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh; as well as other works by Manet, Monet and Cezanne, among others.

The smell of smoke permeated the areas surrounding the London building, cordoned off and filled with firefighters, who in the early afternoon were still evacuating the last groups of people left inside.

While firefighters tried to put out the fire and several drones flew over the building, dozens of curious onlookers gathered on the bridge adjacent to Somerset House to capture images of the impressive continuous column of smoke, along with several workers at the complex, who still in uniform told EFE that the incident “caught them by surprise” and they were ordered to leave as quickly as possible.

According to the fire department in a statement, the causes of the fire are still unknown and Somerset House confirmed on social media that “All staff and public are safe“and that the place is closed due to a fire that broke out in a small part of the building and is now under the control of the fire brigade of the British capital.

It was precisely the London Fire Brigade that confirmed the incident through its X account (formerly Twitter) after responding to a photograph of the user Michelle Bikbywho was “somewhat disturbed” by the amount of smoke coming from the roof of the building.

According to the statement, the brigade’s control officers attended more than ten calls regarding the fire throughout the morning and several crews from surrounding stations were dispatched to the scene. The building affected, Somerset House, a neoclassical style, is listed as Grade I for its historic and national value and Only 2.5% of buildings in the UK achieve such statuswhich it shares with Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and Tower Bridge in London.

Built in the 18th century on the north bank of the Thames by architect William Chambers on the site of a Tudor palace, it originally housed government offices, learned societies and the Naval Office. Now converted into a cultural centre and tourist attraction, Somerset House houses two important art collectionsthe Courtauld Institute of Art and the Gilbert Collection of Decorative Arts and is the home of Britain’s Royal Society of Literature.