Arson Suspected After Fire At Gunnersbury Park Cafe

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Fire-fighters rescue horse-drawn carriages from historic display

Picture: Gunnersbury Park Friends

May 29, 2020

A fire has hit the café at Gunnersbury Park in the early hours of Friday morning (29 May).

Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters were called to the scene at around 12.54am.

Part of the ground floor and the roof of the café were alight. There are no reports of any injuries.

Firefighters used cutting gear to gain access to the fire in the roof of the building

It is understood that the café is now a crime scene as arson is suspected.

Station Commander Peter Wolfenden who was at the scene said: "Road closures were put in place whilst crews worked hard to bring the fire under control and stop it spreading further.

Picture: London Fire Brigade

"The fire was located within the roof of the building and crews used cutting gear to gain access and extinguish the fire.

"The café has a historic display area, containing display items like horse-drawn carriages, and firefighters safely removed these from the building.

"Crews are expected to remain on scene for several hours damping down."

Pictures posted by the Fire Brigade indicate that some of the carriages may have been damaged by the fire. They will now be assessed for damage by the curatorial team at Gunnersbury Park Museum.

Picture: London Fire Brigade

Fire crews from Acton, Chiswick, Ealing, Richmond and surrounding fire stations were at the scene. They brought the blaze under control at 4.26am.

Cllr Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council said, “The fire engulfed the café overnight and it has been completely destroyed – this is very sad news and will be a significant blow to everyone who uses the park and for colleagues at both councils and the Gunnersbury CIC who have worked so hard to regenerate the park and the house.

“I would like to thank London Fire Brigade for their hard work overnight to tackle the blaze and for retrieving two historic carriages.

“We will work closely with the emergency services, Hounslow Council and the Gunnersbury Park CIC to investigate the cause of the fire. We will be doing everything possible to get the park open as quickly as possible.

“We are thankful nobody was hurt.”

Cllr Samia Chaudhary, Cabinet Member for Leisure Services at Hounslow Council said, “We were shocked and saddened to hear of the fire that took place at the Gunnersbury Park Café. Thankfully no one was hurt but the building, which only opened in 2018, has been destroyed.”

“Police and fire crews attended the fire at 1am, and have confirmed there are no injuries. They are still on the scene in order to make the site safe and to investigate the causes of the fire and we thank them for their hard work in managing the fire and site.

“The park is currently closed to visitors, with all gates locked. It is expected it will remain closed for at least 48 hours. ”

Local people are reminded that Gunnersbury Park is currently closed and the gates are locked. It will remain closed for 48 hours (as of 29 May 2020). The café had been closed to the public during lockdown.