Mumbai Fire Brigade
A building fire in India's Mumbai killed seven and injured 25 Saturday. Above, firefighters demonstrate their skills during an annual competition at Fire Brigade headquarters in Mumbai March 23, 2001. Reuters

A block of flats in South West London has been engulfed by a raging blaze that about 125 firefighters tried to knockdown.

A Sherbrook way building located in Worcester Park, the immediate victim of the fire which had spread rapidly to take its entire four floors hostage, is being attended by close to 20 fire engines that are deployed at the scene. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) revealed to BBC that the real reason behind the fire is still unknown and no injuries have been reported yet.

The fire crews were informed just before 01:30 BST and it took them until 6:30 to tame the flames.

According to Dean Fowler, a resident of the top floor of the building where he lives with his family said his sleep broke in the night as he heard someone banging on his door.

He said, "I then heard someone screaming 'there's a fire, get out', and I just got my boys and went,"

He also added that he moved in the building only two weeks back and that he had lost “everything” in the blaze. He, however, said that he and his family members are alive and breathing and that’s all that matters to him.

The building, made up of 23 flats in totality, is based in Hampton Estate which was built on a former sewage treatment works. The residents from the block as well as other neighboring buildings have been shifted to a nearby community center for their safety.

Darren Nicholson recounted that he woke up to the sound of crackling and was taken aback to see the unruly flames when he opened the curtains. He said, “I saw the flames and got myself and the family out". He assumed that the blaze began “on the balconies”. He revealed that the alarms were going off in the community areas but not in his own flat.

According to Graham Adams, from London Fire Brigade, "This is a challenging fire and firefighters are working hard to bring the blaze under control, Firefighters will remain on scene for a number of hours and we would urge people to avoid the area if possible."

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