Central London celebrity haunt Chiltern Firehouse may be out of action for years after a devastating blaze earlier this month, an architect has said. The fire at the Marylebone venue on February 14 is believed to have started in a pizza oven before spreading through the rest of the hotel and restaurant.
More than 100 people were evacuated, just ahead of a weekend when Demi Moore, Timothee Chalamet and Lily Collins were due to stay. Architect Harriet Pillman, whose firm previously worked on the building, said restoration work on the Victorian building was likely to be “complex for lots of reasons".
Speaking to the BBC, she estimated the initial stages of the work would take at least a year and it could be three years before the luxury venue is ready to reopen. "Projects like this are complex for lots of reasons, the main one being that the initial stages are very different to a normal architectural project,” Ms Pillman, whose firm Donald Insall Associates helped convert the building into a hotel, said.
This is because the building first needed to be stabilised, the fire-damaged material removed and the structure dried out before works could begin. “It's only then that architectural proposals can be developed," she added. Around 140 firefighters responded to the call-out as the blaze spread from the pizza oven, travelling through internal vents and up to the roof.
Despite dramatic scenes of guests being evacuated into the cold night and staff embracing in shock, no one was injured. The blaze reportedly also caused Netflix to have to move a post-Bafta bash planned for that weekend. Located on Chiltern Street, the firehouse occupies a historic Victorian fire station, originally built in 1889 as the Chiltern Street Fire Station.
American hotel tycoon Andre Balazs, who owns the venue as well as Hollywood's Chateau Marmont, said the cause is under investigation and the Chiltern Firehouse would be closed until further notice. In an earlier statement, he said: “It is with heartfelt gratitude and appreciation that we watched a remarkable 140 firefighters from over 20 stations rapidly descend on what they told me was a hugely sentimental building for so many of them.
“We know in fact one of those who rushed to the Chiltern Firehouse this evening had been stationed in the building when it was a fire station 30 years ago. I am truly grateful to all of them as I am sure that this is not the Valentine's Day evening they had in mind.”.
