A police cordon has been established in Gayton Crescent

AN INVESTIGATION has been launched into the cause of a Hampstead flat fire that left one man dead.

The blaze, which damaged part of a second-floor flat in Gayton Crescent, is thought to have started at around 11.45 yesterday (Thursday) morning. 

An investigation into the cause of the fire has been launched by fire investigators, who were on the scene today in full personal protective gear and breathing apparatus. A forensic tent has been erected within a police cordon. 

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said firefighters attempted to rescue a man from the second floor of the house via the staircase, but he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

While fire damage to the building is not visible from the street, neighbours say the back of the building has been blackened by smoke.

Drusilla Heywood, who lives in the basement flat of the building, said: “I heard a loud bang, and wondered what on earth that was. A minute or so later I could smell woodsmoke, a burning smell. 

“So I went to my door into the garden to find out, because it was a noise from the back of the house. But before I could open it, my doorbell went. It was my neighbour saying: ‘there’s a fire, get out’.”

Ms Heywood said the building, which comprises four flats, is not owned by the council or run by a housing association. 

Residents say they were alerted to the blaze after hearing a window explode in the heat. Neighbour Ruggero Bozotti said: “My partner was hanging laundry in the garden and she heard the window crash, explode, then she saw smoke. Then she started yelling: ‘fire!’, so I called 999.”

“We could see from the garden. I think it was in the bathroom,” Mr Bozotti said. “At the time it was a lot adrenaline pumping… I rushed out and I started ringing the bells. I think people had already been alerted by the yelling.”

Another neighbour told the New Journal the fire had been so ferocious he had been able to hear it burning.

In a statement, the LFB said the fire was under control by 12.49. Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters from West Hampstead, Euston, Hendon and surrounding fire stations attended the scene.