Four fire engines attended the scene

Eight people were led to safety during a fire which broke out at a dry cleaners in South Tottenham last night (30th May).

Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters headed to West Green Road, where a small fire occurred in a clothing bin on the ground floor of a dry cleaners with flats above.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) was called at 9.38pm and the fire was under control by 10.15pm. Crews from Tottenham, Stoke Newington and Walthamstow fire stations attended the scene.

There were no reports of any injuries.

The fire is being treated as accidental and is believed to have been caused by self-heating textiles.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “These types of fires often involve textiles that become contaminated with oil, most commonly linseed, massage and cooking oil on tea towels, tablecloths and chef whites.

“Sometimes when materials are cleaned, put in tumble dryers and then folded and stacked, the heat from the tumble drying cannot escape. This can result in a high enough temperature allowing it to build up to a point where it smoulders and eventually ignites.

“If you are washing and then drying on a hot cycle, always use the cooling cycle on the tumble dryer so it cools down and allow the heat to dissipate properly, before stacking laundered items together.”

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