Four fire engines and 21 firefighters and officers were called to a disused pub on fire in Edgware in the early hours of this morning.
The blaze broke out in the ground floor of the public house on Station Road. The Brigade was called after a neighbour saw wisps of smoke coming through the boarded up windows of the pub.
Station manager Gary Squires, who was at the scene, said: “When crews arrived there was a fire in the old pub area on the ground floor.
“Crews did really well gaining access in to the building and extinguishing the fire because it was a difficult building to search.
“They managed to contain the fire to the ground floor area where it originated and stopped it from spreading to the rest of the building.
“Crews also searched upstairs in the building because a light was on and there were cars in the car park but there was nobody on the site.”
Half of the ground floor was damaged by fire and a small amount of the first and second floor of the building also suffered some damage.
The Brigade was called at 0220 and the fire was under control by 0358. Fire crews from Stanmore, Mill Hill and Hendon fire stations attended the scene.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.