Alexia Ganotaki
Fire crews from Kingston, Surbiton, Richmond, Twickenham and New Malden joined forces to tackle the blaze above Partica shop, which is now under control.
Toby Couch, 21, a full time employee at Natterjacks said: “There was so much smoke that you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face. We saw bricks falling down from the roof and at first we thought that it was people jumping off.”
Neighbouring shops and offices on Fife Road were evacuated around midday when Steve Asman from the Vans shop called the fire brigade.
Clouds of smoke
The roof of the building caved in and clouds of smoke billowed into the surrounding streets.
“The road just started getting smokey and everyone came out of their shop to see what was happening”, said Mr Couch.
There are no known injuries yet, however people at the scene were handed out masks as police suspected some may suffer from smoke inhalation.
Eight fire engines as well as police cars and ambulances rushed to the scene.
London Fire Brigade
London Fire Brigade’s Group Manager Darren Munro, said: “Fire crews arrived at the scene quickly and worked hard to bring the fire under control. The roof was very badly damaged in the fire, but firefighters prevented it from spreading to the adjoining buildings.
“Crews will be at the scene for some time damping down the fire.”
Residents were unable to return home on Fife Road and part of Castle Street by Kingston station as police had cornered them off.
According to Mr Couch, Fife Road will be closed off to public for the rest of the night.