Brentford Travelodge blaze not thought to be cladding-related, says fire service

A fire at a five-storey west London hotel on Wednesday morning is not thought to have been cladding-related, according to the London Fire Brigade (LFB).

A witness had claimed the blaze at the Travelodge on High Street, Brentford, may have involved cladding but officials have said this is probably not true.

An LFB spokesman said: “The early indications are that it was not cladding-related.”

Around 100 firefighters battled the blaze after being called out just before 3am. The fire started in a bin room adjacent to the building.

The LFB confirmed 160 people were evacuated from the building and said the flames had climbed up five floors before the fire was brought under control at 6.53am.

There were no injuries.

Several videos showing the fire were posted on social media:

Hotel guest Reg Williams, from Stratford-upon-Avon, said: “The fire crews had the hoses in that cladded area for ages.

“I’m concerned that cladding is still attached to buildings.”

He said the alarm in the hotel went off at 2.45am and guests were quickly evacuated.

Mr Williams added: “The fire was quite big, the flames were 20 metres high.

“It really went up quickly.”

An LFB spokesman would not give details on the fire until an investigation had been carried out.

He added: “The fire was on the outside from what I gather. That is how it is looking.”

Another hotel guest, Mike Thomas, said he didn’t believe the blaze was real until someone ran down the hallway and shouted “fire”.

He said the fire exit they evacuated through was close to the bin area where the blaze started.

Mr Thomas said: “We could feel the heat. Then the penny drops that you’re actually running out of a burning building.”

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Station commander Nathan Hobson added: “When firefighters arrived they were faced with a rapidly developing fire.

“Firefighters carried out a systematic search of the hotel and fought the fire internally, which helped stop the fire spreading further.”

A Travelodge spokesperson said: “Guests are being looked after locally and our team are now making arrangements for their future accommodation and support.

“We continue to work with the emergency services at the site and would like to thank them and local agencies for their rapid response, and to offer our thanks to our guests for their cooperation with the evacuation.”

They added that the hotel was a mixed-construction building and said Travelodge was reviewing all the building details as part of the investigation into the incident.

The Travelodge is located less than five miles from the site of the Grenfell Tower fire, which claimed the lives of 72 people in 2017.