The entire ground floor of a home in Thornton Heath was destroyed by a fire, London Fire Brigade (LFB) have said, revealing that police are now investigating its cause.
The cause of the fire, which broke out on Sunday (January 3), is still unknown and is now under investigation by LFB and the Metropolitan Police.
An image taken in the aftermath of the blaze posted by the LFB online showed a scene of devastation at the semi-detached home on Headcorn Place in Thornton Heath.
Black seams of soot could be seen on the outside of the building, while the inside appeared almost entirely burnt out.
Some 40 firefighters tackled a blaze at a house on Headcorn Place in #ThorntonHeath yesterday in which the ground floor area was destroyed and an area of the first floor was damaged. Fire crews stopped it spreading to adjacent properties https://t.co/J4U7GqtNo8 pic.twitter.com/YHgROvbp4d
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) January 4, 2021
One woman managed to escape from the house and was later treated for smoke inhalation, LFB said in a statement on the fire which described their response in further detail:
"Six fire engines and about 40 firefighters attended a fire at a semi-detached house over two floors on Headcorn Place in Thornton Heath.
"The entire ground floor area of the house and part of the first floor was destroyed by the fire.
"One woman left the property before the Brigade arrived and was attended to for the effects of smoke inhalation at the scene by London Ambulance crews.
"Crews worked quickly to contain the blaze and to prevent it from spreading into adjacent properties," a spokesperson said.
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