A tragic incident unfolded as a young boy lost his life in a fire that erupted beside a fire station in Southwark, South London. According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), the fire broke out in a flat on Cooper’s Road. The LFB deployed four fire engines and approximately 25 firefighters to combat the blaze in a first-floor flat of a six-story building close to the Old Kent Road Fire Station.

Before the firefighters arrived, one teenage boy managed to escape the property and was promptly taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, another teenager succumbed to the fire at the scene, as confirmed by the LFB the following day.

The fire service received the emergency call just before 3 pm and swiftly dispatched crews from Dockhead, Dowgate, Shadwell, and Whitechapel fire stations. By 4:30 pm, the firefighters had successfully brought the blaze under control.

A 64m turntable ladder from the Old Kent Road Fire Station arrived within six minutes of the call, as per an LFB spokesperson. Additionally, the spokesperson mentioned that another vehicle from the same station had initially been attending a separate incident but later returned to assist at the scene of the fire.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the LFB’s Fire Investigation Unit in collaboration with the Metropolitan Police.