'I sheltered locals fleeing a fire in my pub'

Landlord Joshua Burton decided to keep his pub open to help residents

"I just tried to do what I felt like I was supposed to do with the position that I'm in."

"I think it's something I was always aware of about pubs; it used to be a crisis point in British culture."

Joshua Burton, the landlord of the Five Bells pub in New Cross, decided he would stay open all night so that people fleeing their homes when a fire broke out had somewhere to shelter.

Around 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines were called to tackle the blaze which had broken out at a block of flats in c in New Cross on 20 August.

London Fire Brigade brought the blaze under control after 14 hours

No-one was injured, but the blaze left dozens of people homeless, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

London Fire Brigade (LFB) said 34 residents were relocated to Wavelengths Leisure Centre in Deptford, which acted as a rest centre throughout the night, as well as a nearby hotel.

However there was a third premises which turned into an emergency refuge centre on the night of the fire.

The Five Bells pub on New Cross Road stayed open until 06:00 BST on Thursday morning, which allowed impacted residents to shelter inside and firefighters were able to use the toilets throughout the night.

The fire brigade said there were no reports of injuries in the fire

Pub landlord Joshua told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "Normally my licensing hours are until 11pm but it was at that point I could clearly see the fire wasn't stopping and there's a load of people in here, most of whom are from the flats.

"So I thought 'I'm just going to stay open' – not in a service way – but I'm just going to at least stay open."

During that Wednesday night and during the early hours of Thursday morning, the pub's electrics cut out twice, so Joshua lit candles and got one of his speakers working to play some music in the background to alleviate any stress experienced by residents.

He added: "It was about 6am when I had the confirmation about Wavelengths [being the official refuge centre] so I just ordered them all taxis.

"I don't know if they even had anything like their bank cards, they asked to pay me back but I said 'don't worry about it' so I got them the taxis and I got them to Wavelengths."

The Five Bells stayed open all night to shelter people who fled the fire

Liam Shrivastava, a councillor for New Cross Gate ward, said people have been really impressed with the community response to the fire.

Together with fellow ward councillor Aisha Malik-Smith, he has been supporting affected residents including making sure their temporary accommodation is suitable for their needs.

Cllr Malik-Smith said: "All of these residents have lost their homes and all of their possessions, it's a huge upheaval.

"It's so traumatic for so many families so we're really just doing what we can to support them and make all of the process and the admin that comes along with it as easy as possible and just lift as much of the burden as possible."

LFB said it was called to the fire on Wednesday 20 August at 16:27 and it was under control by 06:48 the next day.

Part of the first floor and most of the second floor of the block were damaged and the building's roof was also destroyed.

The fire is believed to have been accidental but the exact cause is still under investigation.