Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters tackled a house fire on Addiscombe Road in Croydon.
Half of the ground and first floors of a two-storey, derelict, detached house were damaged by fire and the roof was destroyed. There were no reports of any injuries.
Station Commander Tom Sharp, who was at the scene, said: “Firefighters worked hard to bring the fire under control as quickly as possible.
“One of the Brigade’s 32-metre turntable ladders was used as a water tower, allowing crews to tackle the fire from above. The Brigade’s Drone Team was also deployed, giving the Incident Commander an aerial view of the incident and using thermal imaging cameras to identify hot spots.
“Addiscombe Road was closed between the junctions of Havelock Road and Birch Tree Way, and we urged people to avoid the area where possible.”
The Brigade's Control Officers took the first of four calls to the fire at 0432 and sent crews from Woodside, Croydon, Forest Hill, Beckenham and surrounding fire stations to the scene. The fire was under control by 0653.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.