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On the evening of
Saturday 9th February there was a huge fire in Camden Market.
Flames were leaping 30 foot into the sky. The fire centered around
the Canal Market and Hawley Arms Pub on the east side of Chalk
Farm Road. The entire area was quickly cordoned off as the London
Fire Brigade drafted in some 100 firefighters and 20 fire engines
to tackle the disastrous fire.
One of the Bg in Camden players, French Freddy, runs a
market stall in Camden Lock Market and happened to be at a
birthday party in The Lockside Lounge when the fire took hold. His
stall, stock room and The Lockside Lounge were not damaged by the
fire.
“First we saw smoke, then the fire brigade arrived, then we saw
the fire and then the flames were reaching way over the height of
the buildings” said Freddy when we spoke to him on the following
day. “Thank God for the emergency departments who did a really
great job.”
We have also spoken to David the manager of The Lockside Lounge
who said “The Canal Market and Hawley Arms have been taken out
pretty well in their entirety but we and The Lockside Lounge are
all ok. Our water supply was shut off shortly after the fire
started and we closed up soon after that. This all goes to show
the fragility of life.”
David went back to The Lockside Lounge on the morning of Sunday
10th to check on things but the entire area is still cordoned off
because smoke is still rising and the cause of the fire is now
being discerned. It is expected that the area will be closed off
for a further 4 days.
London Fire Brigade station manager Guy Foster said there were no
reports of any casualties, injuries or rescues. Even so a huge
number of market traders will have been affected by this event and
our thoughts and condolences are with them.
Our next Bg in Camden evening is scheduled for Tuesday 19th
February and there is every reason to expect that it should
happen. |
