Faulty Tumble Dryer Causes Fire in Olympia's Basement
80 people left building safely before firefighters tackled blaze on Sunday evening
A faulty tumble dryer has been blamed for a fire which broke out in the basement of Olympia London in Hammersmith Road on Sunday evening.
Four fire engines and 21 firefighters and officers from Hammersmith, Kensington, Fulham, and Chelsea fire stations were called to the scene at 8.47pm on Sunday, and working together, had the blaze under control at 10.23pm.
The Fire Brigade says the fire was contained inside a laundry room. The control room for the conference centre was alerted when smoke was seen at the front of the premises and two smoke alarms sounded.
Around 80 people left the building safely before the Brigade arrived.
A spokesperson for Olympia said: " Olympia London confirms there was a minor fire caused by a faulty tumble dryer in the basement of the building. The area is used by staff only and has no public access.
" The Fire Brigade attended to the location on Sunday evening and all staff and contractors present in the building were evacuated as per safety guidelines.
" There were no visitors at the venue at the time and no one was hurt in the incident."
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: "Incidents like this show how important it is to have a working fire alarm in homes but also businesses. That means that if there's a fire, there is a way for that fire to be easily detected and people can be warned easily."
The Fire Brigade is also drawing attention to its Total Recall campaign, which aims to make it easier for people to protect themselves from lethal faulty white goods - tumble dryers, washing machines, dishwashers, fridges and freezers - which it says cause nearly one fire a day in London.
You can read more about the campaign here.
Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter has also campaigned on this issue, after a fire in August 2016, started by a faulty tumble driver, caused damage across five floors of Shepherds Court, on the south side of Shepherd's Bush Green, with his petition to the government collecting over 100,000 signatures. You can read about the petition and parliamentary debates on the issue here.
July 10, 2018
July 10, 2018
July 10, 2018