About 100 firefighters are tackling a blaze at Somerset House in central London.
A pillar of smoke has been seen billowing from the roof of the Grade I-listed building on the Strand. London fire brigade (LFB) received its first call about the fire at 11.59am on Saturday and sent 15 fire engines to tackle it.
The LFB added that “around 100” firefighters were on the scene, with crews from Soho, Dowgate, Islington and surrounding fire stations attending.
A LFB spokesperson said: “Crews are tackling flames located in part of the building’s roof. Two of the brigade’s 32-metre ladders have been sent to the scene to support firefighting operations.
“The entire site at Somerset House is now closed to the public whilst we tackle the fire,” the spokesperson added. “Traffic in the surrounding area will be impacted as crews respond.”
The cause of the fire is not yet known but Somerset House posted on social media that all staff and public were safe after the fire broke out in “one small part of the building”.
“The site is closed,” the post said. “The London fire brigade arrived swiftly and we’re working very closely with them to control the spread of the fire.”
Somerset House is a former royal palace which at one time housed Queen Elizabeth I when she was a princess. Though the original house was demolished in 1775, construction on its current iteration began immediately, with the site becoming a centre for arts and culture.
It now houses the Courtauld Gallery, an extensive art collection of paintings ranging from the Renaissance through to the 20th century.
