Holborn fire: First pictures of underground damage caused by massive blaze beneath street

 
Blaze: Firefighters battled for nearly 48 hours to put out the fire (Pictures: Charlie Routley/Camden Council)
Sebastian Mann2 June 2015

These are the first pictures of underground damage caused by a dramatic fire that raged for two days beneath the streets of central London.

Thousands were forced to flee buildings when flames sparked under Kingsway in Holborn on the afternoon of April 1.

Firefighters battled for nearly 48 hours to get the blaze under control as columns of fire erupted on to the street and smoke billowed from the subterranean furnace.

Camden Council published the first pictures of repair work ongoing below ground as it announced a major road that has been closed since the incident began would reopen on Wednesday.

The service tunnels beneath the carriageway on Kingsway are constructed in the form of a brick arch surrounded by a concrete envelope and are over 100 years old (Picture: Camden Council)
Camden Council

It will mean traffic can flow through the Strand Underpass for the first time in nearly two months.

From June 12 buses and taxis will be allowed to use the northbound tunnel of the Kingsway.

A new foundation along the centreline of the tunnel is being constructed (Picture: Camden Council)
Camden Council

Councillor Phil Jones, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Transport and Planning at Camden Council, said: “Thanks to the hard work put in by the teams on the ground at Kingsway, we’re on the verge of getting this part of London up and running once more.

“This has been a complicated incident to deal with, with repairs taking place in confined conditions in the Victorian tunnels.

"Ensuring public safety is our top priority and we thank residents and businesses for their patience while we have worked to make the road safe.

“All being well, the Strand Underpass should open tomorrow and we forecast that we’ll be able to open Kingsway northbound to buses and taxis at the end of next week.”

In the aftermath of the incident, LFB assistant commissioner Dominic Ellis said: "This has been a complicated and difficult incident to manage.

"The reason it took so long to extinguish the flames is because of the dangers involved in extinguishing the fire before the gas supply is shut down, which could have resulted in the risk of a gas explosion."

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