Picture gallery: People evacuated after fire at Hereward House School in Belsize Park
Hereward House school fire in Belsize Park - Credit: Archant
A Belsize Park school was evacuated today after a blaze ripped through the top floor of the building.
More than 30 firefighters descended on Hereward House School in Strathray Gardens after reports of a fire at around noon.
Smoke poured from a fourth-floor window and people were evacuated from the property.
Scaffolding had been put up outside the all-boys prep school and it is believed work was going on at the time of the fire. Firefighters are investigating the cause of the blaze.
The school is currently on half-term and it is not believed any children were in the building when the fire took hold.
Nupur Ganguly, who has a son at the small private school, saw the six fire engines speed to the scene from her home in neighbouring Eton Avenue.
She said: “I think the school was just having some sort of maintenance work, but I’m not really sure how it all started.
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“We are quite upset because we love the school and it’s a very small old building so it could be a bit of a problem when the children go back.”
A spokesman from the London Fire Brigade said: “Part of the roof of a school was alight. Everyone was evacuated from the building and there were no reports of any injuries.”
Police cordoned off the street and parts of Eton Avenue as firefighters tried to douse the blaze.
A builder, who had been working on a site next door, said: “The guy who was working up there tried to stop the fire with an extinguisher, but it was too late.”
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