Fire brigade on site after major fire breaks out in luxury London hotel

More than 100 people were Friday forced to evacuate a luxury London hotel, a favourite celebrity haunt that was once a fire station, when a Valentine's Day blaze broke out, firefighters said.

The London Fire Brigade said they had about "20 fire engines and around 125 firefighters at the scene of the hotel fire" after it first erupted earlier in the afternoon. A fire service press officer told at the scene that they had made "good progress", while the owner of the Chiltern Firehouse hotel, said the blaze had been "fully contained" with no injuries, according to the Press Association.

The Chiltern Firehouse, which dates back to 1889 was one of London's first purpose-built fire stations, before being later renovated and restored by American businessman and hotelier Andre Balazs. It is popular with A-listers and was the venue for pop star Kylie Minogue's 50th birthday party in 2018. Balazs said the hotel would be closed "until further notice".