London fire crews tackle huge blaze at Jewish faith school Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass

Around a hundred firefighters tackled a major fire at a Jewish school in London late last night (4 July).

Fire crews descended on the ultra-orthodox Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass school on near Clapton Common in Hackney at around midnight after flames were spotted at the building.

The blaze was generally contained to the ground floor which eventually collapsed into the basement of the four-storey building.

Fire station manager Nicola Lown said: "The ground floor has partially collapsed into the basement leading to hazardous conditions.

"Two fire rescue units are also on the scene and their equipment is being used to shore up the ground floor.

"This will enable crews wearing breathing apparatus to gain better access to the fire in the basement."

Images at the scene showed flames and smoke pouring from parts of the building which took several hours to get under control.

A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade, who remain at the scene this morning, said that there had been no reported injuries.

Crews from Stoke Newington, Tottenham, Homerton, Hornsey, Holloway fire stations were attending.

The Salvation Army were attending the scene this morning, providing food and drink for the exhausted fire crews.

The cause of the blaze remains unknown at this stage, and a full check of the building will be carried out once it has been made secure.

However, according to the Community Security Trust, a group that work to protect Jewish communities, the fire was started by a faulty boiler and there were "no wider concerns."