Ten fireengines and 70 firefighters and officers were called to a fire in ancillary buildings and halls belonging to the Baitul Futuh Mosque on London Road in Morden this afternoon.
The fire affected the administration buildings and associated halls adjacent to the mosque, which is the largest in western Europe. One of the ancillary building’s suffered extensive damage to its ground floor, first floor and roof. Thanks to the quick actions of firefighters though the mosque itself was unaffected by the fire.
Station Manager Philip Morton who was at the scene said: “This was a large fire and our crews worked hard in difficult conditions to confine it to the administrative buildings on the site and thanks to their efforts the mosque itself was unaffected. Throughout the incident we worked closely with the local community to ensure our damage control operations took full regard of the religious significance of the building’s contents.”
One man, who left the mosque before the Brigade arrived, was taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service suffering from for smoke inhalation.
The Brigade was called at 1206 and the fire was under control by 1732. Crews from New Malden, Wandsworth, Tooting, Sutton, Mitcham, Norbury and other surrounding fire stations attended the incident. Firefighters will now remain at the scene into the evening damping down the fire.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.