Massive Fire Erupts at Former BBC Headquarters in West London

A fierce blaze broke out in the early hours of Saturday at the Helios Building in White City, the former headquarters of the BBC. The fire, which started around 3 a.m., quickly spread across the upper floors of the nine-storey structure, now home to apartments, a restaurant, a hotel, and a gym.

The London Fire Brigade deployed 15 fire engines and around 100 firefighters to tackle the flames. Specialist crews from Hammersmith, North Kensington, Kensington, and Chiswick stations rushed to the scene. Two 32-metre turntable ladders were used as water towers to douse the upper levels, where the fire was most intense.

Authorities confirmed that several top-floor flats, a restaurant, external decking, and ducting sustained damage. The full extent of the destruction is still being assessed. As a precaution, residents from nearby buildings were evacuated, and a rest centre was set up to accommodate those affected.

According to the Helios Building’s website, the property contains 162 flats, a gym, and a 47-bed hotel. Once part of the BBC’s Television Centre complex until 2013, the building remains a prominent landmark in West London now scarred by one of the area’s most significant recent fires.