Road closures remain in place and police enquiries are ongoing following the ‘devastatingly sad’ fire that has ripped through a pub in Sudbury.
Around 70 fire fighters tackled the blaze that tore through the roof and first floor.
Thick smoke and flames were seen billowing out of The Rising Sun hotel and pub in Sudbury, Brent, shortly before 6pm yesterday evening (Monday, October 9). London Fire Brigade (LFB) had the situation under control by 7:15pm with no injuries reported.
A man claiming to be the brother of the owner, Kanapathippillai Sutheskumar, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that he is over visiting his sister from Canada and first heard about the fire from the news.
He said: “I don’t know how it started but it started in the room upstairs. My sister was inside when the fire started, in the office downstairs, and there were also people in the restaurant but not many. She is OK though.”
Although the fire has now been put out, a number of street cordons remain in place at Greenford Road and South Vale to prevent vehicle access whilst the police and fire brigade carry out investigations into how the fire started.
A bystander, who did not want to be named, said they noticed it while walking their dog the previous evening. They said: “I noticed the smoke at first, then all of a sudden the flames started coming up and out through the tiles and the roof.”
They added: “There were hundreds of people just standing here watching, hundreds and hundreds. No-one has any idea how it started. I stayed and watched for about half an hour but left before it was put out.”
The Liberal Democrat councillor for Sudbury, Paul Lorber, told the LDRS: “The fire at the historic Rising Sun is devastatingly sad news for the Sudbury Hill area. It has been a prominent feature of the area for many generations. I hope it can be saved and rebuilt.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “Police were called at 18:00hrs on Monday, 9 October to reports of a fire at a public house on Greenford Road, Harrow. Officers attended along with the London Fire Brigade.”
They added: “Police implemented road closures and safety cordons while fire fighters extinguished the blaze. They remain in place at this time pending examination of the structure to ensure the building does not pose a risk to the public. There were no reported injuries.”
