Ten fire engines and approximately 70 firefighters are currently battling a significant fire at a derelict sports centre on Imperial Way in Croydon, with most of the two-storey building alight.
The London Fire Brigade received the first of five calls to the incident at 4:26pm, sending crews from Croydon, Purley, Wallington, Norbury, Mitcham and surrounding stations to the scene.
Two 32-metre turntable ladders are being used as water towers to tackle the flames from height, while drones are being deployed above the scene to provide live images and thermal imagery, giving incident commanders a real-time aerial view to help develop tactics and assess conditions on the ground.
Station Commander Tony Perks, who is at the scene, said crews were making steady progress but were expected to remain at the incident for a number of hours. He confirmed the fire was producing smoke across the surrounding area and urged local residents and businesses to keep windows and doors closed.
The cause of the fire is not yet known and investigations will follow once the blaze is under control. Residents are also advised to avoid the area where possible while firefighters remain on scene.
