Last night, January 6, just before 9pm, a fire broke out at London's historic KOKO venue, wreaking heavy damage throughout. At 3am it was confirmed that the fire had been brought under control by the eight fire engines and 60 firefighters that arrived to fight the blaze. Despite 30% of the roof being on fire at one point, no casualties have been reported.
After thanking the London Fire Brigade for their quick action, KOKO's social media promised a statement would be made in the morning. London Fire Brigade has now confirmed that the roof has been extensively damaged, but the venue itself has been saved — although the scale of the devastation has yet to be worked out.
Station Commander Jon Lewis said: "Firefighters' quick action and hard work in the early stages meant the fire was contained to the roof and saved the rest of the building. Fire crews will remain at the scene throughout the morning."
The venue had been closed since March while it was given a £40 million refurbishment and had been slated for a Spring 2020 re-opening. It remains unclear how far they've been set back.
KOKO's owner, Olly Bengough issued the following statement: "We are deeply saddened by the fire that took place at KOKO last night and pleased to announce there have been no casualties. We want to thank the London Fire Brigade for its quick response and how well it handled the situation. The amount of support we have received from the public has been amazing and we'll be doing our best to get the redevelopment of this iconic building back on-track."
