Seventy firefighters tackle blaze in Morden
Two teenage boys are being questioned after a fire in an administration building at the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden on Saturday (September 26).
Ten fire engines and 70 firefighters and officers were called to a fire in building on London Road in Morden just after noon yesterday.
The fire affected the administration building and associated halls next to the mosque, which is the largest in western Europe.
Two boys, aged 16 and 14, were arrested today (September 27) under suspicion of arson.
The ancillary building suffered extensive damage to its ground floor, first floor and roof in the fire. But the mosque itself was unaffected.
London Fire Brigade Station Manager Philip Morton who was at the scene said: "This was a large fire and our crews worked hard in difficult conditions to confine it to the administrative buildings on the site and thanks to their efforts the mosque itself escaped completely unscathed. Throughout the incident we worked closely with the local community to ensure our damage control operations took into account the religious significance of the building's contents."
Rafiq Hayat, national president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, said: "By the Grace of God the mosque is safe and unaffected and there were no injuries and no loss of life."
Around 30 people left the building before firefighters arrived, including one man who was taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service suffering from smoke inhalation.
The Brigade was called at 1206 and the fire was under control by 1732. Crews from New Malden, Wandsworth, Tooting, Sutton, Mitcham, Norbury and other surrounding fire stations attended the incident.
Firefighters remained at the scene into Saturday evening damping down the fire.
September 27, 2015