The Harrow campus of the University of Westminster has suffered a second fire very early this morning in what has turned out to be a very bad weekend for the place of learning.
Late on Friday evening, after a day of panic and worry in central London, close to 100 firefighters were called out to the Watford Road campus in Harrow, north west London in order to put out a fire in a three-storey building.
It became a cordoned hazard area when gas cylinders were discovered inside and a third of the firefighters remained on Saturday to cool down the cylinders of acetylene, hoping to avoid explosions. Acetylene is a highly explosive chemical compound that is used for oxyacetylene gas welding and cutting. In compressed gas form, it can be very dangerous. With London on edge already, a major gas explosion would have bee best avoided. No information has been forthcoming about how this fire started.
Sadly, a second fire broke out last night and up to 100 firefighters were in attendance again to put out the blaze. According to reports, everything was under control by 2am but 30 per cent of the unlucky building has been damaged. It is unconfirmed whether this second blaze is due to the affected acetylene cylinders.
