Brixton bus fire: ‘We panicked, there was smoke everywhere’

A double-decker bus caught on fire in the middle of Brixton this morning, causing panic and sending plumes of smoke into the air.

The 333 bus, which runs from Elephant & Castle to Tooting Broadway, caught fire in Brixton Hill at around 9.50am and the London Fire Brigade has since confirmed there were no casualties.

Sade Merrett, 17, who lives in Brixton Hill, said she was in bed when she heard her mum shout “oh my God, something’s on fire”.

“We looked out the window and saw the bus on fire,” said Ms Merrett. “We all just started to panic. I had to quickly get out of my pyjamas and get my jeans on.

“We ran outside, there was just smoke everywhere and people taking pictures. We thought it was going to  explode so we had to run far away down the street. It was all panic.

“We run outside because if it exploded, we were gonna get hit, I thought it was going to explode because there was just so much smoke and the fire brigade weren’t there yet.”

“I was quite scared because I’ve never really seen anything like that before. I was trying to stay calm.”

Footage of the fire circulated on social media shows it burning at the back of the bus, though it is not yet clear how the fire started.

A statement from the London Fire Brigade said: “Part of a double-decker bus was damaged by fire. The driver and passengers left the bus before the brigade arrived. There were no reports of any injuries.

“The brigade’s 999 control officers took 19 calls to the blaze.

“The brigade was called at 9.50am and the fire was under control by 10.22am. One fire engine from  Brixton Fire Station attended the scene.”

Ms Merrett added: “The top of the back is completely charred, I don’t understand how it started. The windows are blown out and everything. But the bottom of the bus is completely fine. The top the windows are like smashed through. 

“The pavement underneath the bus. It caught fire as well. The road was on fire as well.”

Marlon Osborne, head of operations at TfL, said: “The incident on a bus in Brixton this morning must have been really frightening for those involved.

“Thankfully all passengers were evacuated and there are no injuries. We are working closely with the emergency services and the operator to urgently investigate what happened.”

Picture: A London bus catches fire in Brixton (Pictured: Sade Merrett)