Brentford Travelodge guests flee at 2am as inferno engulfs west London hotel

Terrified Travelodge guests were forced to fled their hotel at 2am as 100 firefighters battled an inferno on the outside of the five-storey building, which is ‘covered in cladding’. 

Fifteen fire engines are at the hotel in Brentford, west London, after the blaze started at an adjacent building before spreading to the Travelodge.

Around 160 guests and staff have been evacuated from the building and there are no reports of any injuries. 

It comes after pressure group Grenfell United sent a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday raising ‘grave concerns’ that a ‘Grenfell-like fire’ will occur again.

The letter said: ‘It is our conviction that a serious fire in the UK, leading to a loss of life, will occur in a building wrapped in combustible materials unless you act.’

The Travelodge is located less than five miles from the site of the Grenfell Tower disaster, which claimed the lives of 72 people in 2017. Today a London Fire Brigade spokesman said: ‘The early indications are that it was not cladding-related.’

Pictured: The inferno in Brentford

Dramatic footage showed flames rising up through a window of the hotel as smoke billowed into the night sky 

The hotel is pictured following this morning's blaze in Brentford, west London, which left guests fleeing in terror

The hotel is pictured following this morning’s blaze in Brentford, west London, which left guests fleeing in terror 

Reg Williams, who was staying at the hotel, said parts of the building covered in cladding were ‘shrouded’ in smoke.

‘The fire crews had the hoses in that cladded area for ages,’ he said. ‘I’m concerned that cladding is still attached to buildings.’

Labour politician Emma Dent-Coad, whose constituency included Grenfell Tower, tweeted: ‘While there is breath in my body – in or out of parliament – I will do everything I can to reverse policies that allowed use of combustible materials & ensure unsafe buildings are dealt with asap. This is a national scandal. People will die.’ 

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Travelodge guests were forced to flee the hotel in the early hours of the morning after an inferno that began in the bins area engulfed the hotel. At least 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines are at the hotel in Brentford, after the blaze started at an adjacent building before spreading to the Travelodge

Travelodge guests were forced to flee the hotel in the early hours of the morning after an inferno that began in the bins area engulfed the hotel. At least 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines are at the hotel in Brentford, after the blaze started at an adjacent building before spreading to the Travelodge 

Terrified Travelodge guests were forced to flee at 2am after an inferno engulfed the hotel

At least 15 fire engines at the hotel in Brentford, London , after the blaze started in the early hours of the morning which started in a bin room at the rear of the building and spread to hotel

Dramatic footage taken from the scene shows flames sending huge plumes of smoke into the sky

Dramatic footage taken from the scene shows flames sending huge plumes of smoke into the sky

At least 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines are at the hotel in Brentford, west London after the blaze started at an adjacent building before spreading to the Travelodge

At least 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines are at the hotel in Brentford, west London after the blaze started at an adjacent building before spreading to the Travelodge

Dramatic footage showed flames rising up through a window of the hotel as smoke billowed into the night sky. 

Reg Williams, who was staying at the Travelodge, said parts of the building covered in cladding were ‘shrouded’ in smoke.

‘The fire crews had the hoses in that cladded area for ages,’ he told the PA news agency.

Mr Williams, from Stratford-Upon-Avon, said the alarm in the hotel went off at 2.45am and the guests were quickly evacuated.

‘The fire was quite big, the flames were 20 metres high,’ he said. ‘It really went up quickly.’

He said that buses were brought in to relocate guests to another Travelodge Hotel in Hounslow but there was not enough room for everyone.

Mr Williams said he was told he would not be able to go back into the hotel until after midday.

‘The tiredness is starting to kick in,’ he said. ‘We’ve been out in the cold for most of the night. 

160 people were evacuated from the five-storey hotel as 100 firefighters fought the blaze which started in the early hours of Wednesday

160 people were evacuated from the five-storey hotel as 100 firefighters fought the blaze which started in the early hours of Wednesday

LFB assistant commissioner Graham Ellis, who was at the scene, said the brigade's control room received 17 calls about the fire

LFB assistant commissioner Graham Ellis, who was at the scene, said the brigade’s control room received 17 calls about the fire 

‘I’m more concerned about getting back to my job.’ 

Another hotel guest, Mike Thomas, said: ‘We were woken up suddenly by the alarm, we didn’t believe it was really real.

‘Then someone ran down the hallway and said it was an actual fire and we rushed out.’

He said the fire exit they evacuated through was close to the bin area where the fire started.

‘We could feel the heat,’ he said. ‘Then the penny drops that you’re actually running out of a burning building.’

The blaze was ‘under control’ by 6.53am and its cause is now being investigated by fire officers and police, the brigade said.

LFB assistant commissioner Graham Ellis, who was at the scene, said the brigade’s control room received 17 calls about the fire.

He said: ‘Firefighters carried out a systematic search of the hotel and around 160 guests and staff evacuated the building.

‘Fire crews will be damping down pockets of fire and carrying out salvage work throughout the morning.

Dramatic footage showed flames rising up through a window of the hotel as smoke billowed into the night sky

Dramatic footage showed flames rising up through a window of the hotel as smoke billowed into the night sky

London Fire Brigade

London Fire Brigade

At least 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines are at the hotel in Brentford, west London after the blaze started at an adjacent building before spreading to the Travelodge. Around 160 guests and staff have been evacuated from the building and there are no reports of any injuries

‘There were no reports of any injuries.’

Another said he was woken at 2.15am by the sound of fire alarms going off.

Austin Tant, 23, told the Mirror that the fire started in a shed at the back of the building where the rubbish is stored before spreading up the hotel to the roof. 

He said: ‘At 2.15am the fire alarms started going off, we thought someone was smoking in the room. It started at the corner of the building. It started at the shed and then moved up the cladding.

‘As far as I am aware there is no one injured. Everyone was out before it spread. People here are cold and annoyed, we are all just here in our t-shirts. 

Another guest, from Barnsley, who gave his name to the BBC as Nigel, said he initially thought the alarm was ‘a hoax’.

At least 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines are at the hotel in Brentford, west London after the blaze started at an adjacent building before spreading to the Travelodge. Around 160 guests and staff have been evacuated from the building and there are no reports of any injuries

At least 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines are at the hotel in Brentford, west London after the blaze started at an adjacent building before spreading to the Travelodge. Around 160 guests and staff have been evacuated from the building and there are no reports of any injuries 

Firefighters at the scene of a blaze at a Travelodge in west London

Firefighters at the scene of a blaze at a Travelodge in west London

‘We woke up and the fire alarm was going off, we thought it was a prank and maybe a few lads having a bit too much ale – but obviously it wasn’t.

‘We come down the stairs and come outside and that’s where we saw all the bin storage in a blaze. Everyone was out really quick and everyone was fine, but we are all a bit tired and cold.’

Richard Fisher, 41, claims he set off the hotel fire alarm after being woken at around 2.45am by a ‘loud bang which sounded like a gunshot’.

Richard then told a Travelodge employee there was a fire breaking out, before heading back upstairs to knock on as many doors as possible.

Waiting out in the cold for two hours as fire crews tackled the blaze, Richard said he and scores of guests lined up this morning to get inside McDonald’s for warmth.

At least 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines are at the hotel in Brentford, west London after the blaze started at an adjacent building before spreading to the Travelodge. Around 160 guests and staff have been evacuated from the building and there are no reports of any injuries

At least 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines are at the hotel in Brentford, west London after the blaze started at an adjacent building before spreading to the Travelodge. Around 160 guests and staff have been evacuated from the building and there are no reports of any injuries

Firefighters at the scene of a blaze at a Travelodge in west London

Firefighters at the scene of a blaze at a Travelodge in west London

London Fire Brigade said this morning the fire was now under control but the cause of the blaze is not yet known.

A spokesperson for the Brentford fire station said: ‘The whole of in a single storey bin room on the ground floor is alight. The fire spread to an adjacent hotel of five floors.

‘Firefighters are carrying out a systematic search of the hotel. The Brigade’s Control took seventeen 999 calls to the visible blaze.

‘Firefighters carried out a systematic search of the hotel. Around 160 guests and staff evacuated the building. There were no reports of any injuries. 

‘A rest centre has been set up by the local authority. Crews are working hard in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control.’

Fire crews from Chiswick and surround fire stations are at the scene.