London's firefighting service said Wednesday it was tackling a blaze at a commercial property in Golders Green, a neighbourhood home to a large Jewish community targeted in recent months by arson attacks.
The fire hit a Jewish supermarket, Kosher Kingdom, according to locals and media reports, with black smoke visible above the area's main shopping street. No injuries were immediately reported.
"The cause of the fire is unknown at this time," the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said, noting that it had mobilised 15 fire engines and around 100 firefighters. Fire brigade drones surveyed the fire from above.
"The fire is producing a significant amount of smoke," it said, urging people to avoid the area.
Jay Shah, 70, who works at Kosher Kingdom, told AFP he had received a phone call that there was a fire impacting the store.
"I think it's from the warehouse at the back", he told AFP at the scene, noting it contained freezers, fridges and machinery.
The fire follows arson attacks on synagogues and community sites over recent months in and around Golders Green, in north London, which is home to a large Jewish population.
The area also saw a stabbing attack in April that targeted two Jewish men.
A little-known Iran-linked group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), has claimed responsibility for almost all the incidents, according to SITE Intelligence Group.
In response, London police has created a new "community protection team" to protect the Jewish community in the capital, initially comprising 100 extra officers.
It combines neighbourhood policing with "specialist protection and counter-terrorism capabilities," the force said last month.
A member of the police stands at a cordoned area as smoke rises in the background from a fire which broke out at a supermarket in the Golders Green neighbourhood in north London on May 27, 2026.Photo by Toby Shepheard / AFP via Getty Images
A police spokesman said officers were at the scene of Wednesday's fire "assisting firefighters with road closures and evacuations".
"This is an ongoing incident with the focus on dealing with the fire and ensuring the safety of the public. It is too early to have determined the cause."
Retiree Nicky, 58, was among people watching the firefighters at work from a nearby cordon.
"It's shocking," she told AFP. "It's a big kosher supermarket serving the community. It's really terrible."
(AFP)