Around 70 firefighters battled for two hours to bring a devastating house fire under control in south London after flames tore through a property in the early hours of this morning.
A child was rushed to hospital along with a man and woman after all three were rescued from the burning two-storey end-of-terrace home on Halesowen Road in Morden.
The trio were found suffering from smoke inhalation and received treatment at the scene before being transported to hospital by ambulance.
London Fire Brigade said crews used a 32-metre turntable ladder as a water tower to tackle the flames from above as fire engulfed the ground floor, first floor and roof of the property.
During the operation, firefighters identified a 15kg gas cylinder at the scene. The canister was cooled and removed to a safe location to prevent a potentially deadly explosion.
Ten fire engines were dispatched to the address after the brigade’s 999 control room received the first of 17 emergency calls at 4.04am. The fire was brought under control by 6.06am.
Crews from Sutton, Mitcham, Wimbledon, New Malden, Wallington, Tooting, Norbury and Clapham fire stations were deployed to tackle the blaze.
The entire property was left destroyed by the fire.
In a statement released online, London Fire Brigade confirmed: “The ground floor, first floor and roof of a two-storey end-of-terrace house were destroyed by fire.”
The brigade added: “Firefighters used a 32-metre turntable ladder as a water tower to extinguish the fire from above.”
An investigation has now been launched to determine the cause of the blaze.
The condition of the child and the two adults taken to hospital has not been disclosed.
