Businesses rally around Woodford BBQ after blaze causes ‘extensive damage’

The community has rallied behind the owners of a kebab shop after the building was devastated by a fire.

Staff from businesses next door to Woodford BBQ have expressed their shock after a blaze took hold at 3am this morning.

Eight residents were evacuated from flats above and next to the site.

Beauty therapist April Nicoll, 21, works at the Enigma salon, on the same line of shops in High Road, Woodford Green.

She said: “It was a shock and really sad to hear.

“I drove in at around about half past nine and saw a police car. When I walked down I didn’t think it looked that bad, but after I heard there was a fire I walked there again and saw the door was smashed.

“The rest was blacked out with the ash and smoke.

“You just think what would have happened if the fire had spread to all of the row of shops, or to the hairdressers next door.”

Giovanni Napolitano, the owner of Giovanni Hair and Beauty, said: “The owners are devastated. They are really hardworking guys and I feel sad for them.

“We got lots of calls from friends and family this morning saying the fire brigade was outside the shop next door.

“We didn’t know if it was our salon. We were very worried.”

The London Fire Brigade sent four fire engines to the scene and the blaze was brought under control after 4am.

A spokesman said the incident, during which the building was “extensively damaged,” is still under investigation, but it is thought an electrical appliance may have caused it.

A spokesman for Redbridge police said officers attended to assist firefighters with matter such as traffic control and that the incident is not a police matter.

Ms Nicoll said she believes the tight-knit community will come together to do whatever it can to support the owners.

She added: “Everyone is quite local and we all talk to each other.

“A lot of people around here like to support local businesses, especially the ones along our road.”