Hornsey fire: Mechanic saves day by spotting fire on roof of Funky Brownz bar

A passing mechanic saved the day after a “rogue Diwali firework” set the roof of a Hornsey bar on fire a week ago last Thursday.

The firework thought to have been responsible for the blaze, which caused a moderate amount of damage to the flat roof of the Tottenham Lane building, had been smouldering all night before bursting into flames in the early hours.

Luckily, a mechanic from the adjacent Tottenham Lane Service Station spotted the flames at around 7.30am and jumped up onto the roof in an unsuccessful attempt to tackle it himself.

Despite failing. the mechanic, who declined to speak to this newspaper, raised the alarm and the fire brigade were able to bring it under control before 8.30.

A member of staff at Funky Brownz told the Ham&High: “It was just a bit of shock, a fire on the roof. It hasn’t caused too much damage luckily, and it’s not affected our business.”

One member of staff at the mechanics told this newspaper: “It was brave, he obviously just saw it early on and climbed up to try and put it out.”

Funky Brownz is also an Indian diner, pub and shisha bar.

A London Fire Brigade’s spokesperson warned of the dangers of unregulated fireworks displays leading to fires like this one. They said: “Fireworks often streak off out of control and land in bushes and garden sheds and then smoulder unnoticed until it’s too late. The safest thing you can do is take your family to an organised display.

“The trader tried to put it out himself but realised it was too big so called the brigade.

“While he was obviously trying to help, we would always urge people never to tackle a fire themselves and always call us as soon as possible.”

Four engines and around 25 firefighters attended the scene.

The fire brigade warned anyone having a private fireworks display to make sure fireworks had the British kitemark, store them safely, and avoid drinking alcohol before setting them off.