Fire on Chiswick High Road

Destroyed falafel stall; photograph Tom Apperley

Falafel stall destroyed

The falafel stall on Chiswick High Road has gone up in flames.

The Healthy Bite stall, outside Specsavers and the Hyde art gallery, went on fire this morning. The road was closed in both directions for a while between Dukes Avenue and Turnham Green Terrace as firefighters put out the blaze. Bus numbers 110, 237, 267 and H91 had to make a detour.

A spokesperson for London Fire Brigade said:

“Firefighters were called to a fire at a market stall on Chiswick High Road.

“The market stall was destroyed and crews removed and cooled a gas cylinder to an ambient temperature as a precaution, as some cylinders can explode when exposed to heat. One man was treated on scene by London Ambulance Service crews.

“The Brigade’s Control Officers took the first of 23 calls to the fire at 10.48 and the fire was under control by 11.29.

“The cause of the fire is under investigation.”

Richard Griffith, who happened to be passing, sent The Chiswick Calendar this video of the fire.

Julia Gartha from the Chiswick Gift Company commented on social media:

‘I heard the pop of the gas canister and saw the flames suddenly go crazy, called the fire brigade and then filmed. No one hurt. CHR now closed for a bit. Someone’s livelihood up in smoke’.

London Ambulance Service said they were called at 10.50 am to reports of a fire. They sent an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and paramedics.

Photograph Lyudmila Hyde

One of the stall’s operators stopped a second gas canister from exploding

The manager of Specsavers evacuated her shop and sent her staff across the road to Gail’s bakery out of harm’s way.

Lyudmila Hyde, who owns the Hyde Gallery, told The Chiswick Calendar:

“It ws really scary. I didn’t see how it started but I heard the explosion. My understanding is that a gas canister exploded and the fire started really quickly.

“One of the guys who worked there actually went back over to the fire to get a second one out. He moved it out of the way. His trousers were scorched and someone gave him a jacket.

“The fire brigade came really quickly.

“I feel really sorry for them. They’re really nice guys and they work so hard. They’re there early in the morning and they always clean up the street really carefully”.

Healthy Bite had their licence to trade renewed in July despite an objection from a local business which was endorsed by Cllr Joanna Biddolph.

READ ALSO: Food stall in Chiswick High Road faces opposition to renewing its licence

The objection concerned lunchtime competition with other fod businesses, pavement space and gas safety.