Fire Engulfs Luxury Hotel in London, Forces Mass Evacuation

LONDON — A fire erupted at the Chiltern Firehouse, a luxury hotel in Marylebone, forcing the evacuation of around 100 guests on Friday, February 14, 2025. Emergency services responded quickly, deploying over 100 firefighters and 20 fire engines to combat the blaze, which began in ducting on the ground floor and spread to the roof.

The London Fire Brigade confirmed that no injuries were reported. Firefighters worked for more than five hours in arduous conditions to bring the fire under control.

Videos shared on social media captured flames engulfing the hotel’s upper levels, with fire crews using cranes to extinguish the fire. Crews from Euston, Soho, Paddington, West Hampstead, Kensington, Chelsea, and other nearby fire stations were actively involved in the operation.

Andre Balazs, the hotel’s owner, expressed gratitude to the firefighters, noting that some had personal ties to the building, which was once a fire station itself. “One of those who rushed to the Chiltern Firehouse this evening had been stationed in the building when it was a fire station 30 years ago,” Balazs said. He confirmed that the hotel would remain closed until further notice and that the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

The Chiltern Firehouse, which opened in 2013, is known as a hotspot for celebrities like Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, and Tom Cruise. It was scheduled to host a Netflix party for the BAFTA awards on Sunday, February 16, but plans for the event are now uncertain.

Witnesses described the alarming scene as thick smoke billowed from the building. Guy Fischman, 23, who was passing by, recalled seeing “embers” and an “orange glow” emitting from a hotel window. “There was really thick smoke and it got into the other street as well. I walked out and the visibility was awful,” he stated.

The London Fire Brigade praised the crews for their efforts, stating, “Crews worked hard over a number of hours in challenging circumstances in a complex historic building and successfully contained the fire.” The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, and the brigade has not yet released further updates.