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Koko Camden fire: Famous music venue engulfed in flames | Koko Camden fire: Famous music venue engulfed in flames |
(32 minutes later) | |
A famous north London music venue has been engulfed in a blaze. | |
Smoke and flames could be seen billowing from the scaffolding in the roof of Koko, in Camden, which is currently under refurbishment. | |
London Fire Brigade sent about 60 firefighters and eight fire engines to the venue on Camden High Street after they were called just before 21:00 GMT. | |
The brigade said 30% of the roof was alight and it was "working hard" to save the rest of the building. | |
It also warned people to stay away from the area. No injuries have been reported. | |
Oliver Cooper, a Conservative councillor who witnessed the fire, said the blaze was "under control and now being pushed back". | |
He added on Twitter: "Devastated by the potential loss of such a huge part of Camden's culture." | |
Koko was previously known as the Camden Palace and Camden Hippodrome, and has been one of the most iconic of London's live music venues for decades. | |
It is currently closed and undergoing refurbishment, and was set to reopen in spring. | |
Acts such as Madonna, The Rolling Stones, Ed Sheeran and Prince have performed at the venue, which is close to Mornington Crescent underground station. | |
Leader of Camden Council Georgia Gould said: "Heartbreaking watching the Camden Palace / Koko up in flames this evening, a building that holds so many memories and means so much to us in Camden." | |
MP for Holborn and St Pancras Sir Keir Starmer echoed Ms Gould's statement on Twitter. | |
Sir Keir said: "Awful news in Camden tonight. Incredible response from our firefighters. As Georgina Gould says, we owe them so much." | |
The venue was set to re-open after a "major state-of-the-art" refurbishment, after the purchase of two adjacent buildings. |