As the world's eyes were focused on the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games this weekend [11-12 Aug], more than 200 firefighters tackled a blaze described by London Fire Brigade as the biggest seen in the capital for several years.

LFB were called out when flames took hold at a recycling centre in Dagenham, east London and though smoke was visible for miles there were no injuries.

London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said: "We've not seen a fire of this size in London for several years - it's certainly a dramatic end to the Olympics for the London Fire Brigade.

"That said though, we are still able to attend incidents across the capital and the fire cover we're providing at the Olympic venues has not been affected.

"At this stage we aren't sure how the blaze started as our focus is getting the flames under control.

"Fire crews will remain at the scene for as long as necessary and a thorough investigation will begin once the fire is out in order to establish how it started."

While initial reports suggested that smoke might be visible in Olympic Park, firefighters got the blaze under control before the likes of Jessie J and The Who brought the curtain down on London 2012.

An investigation into the cause of the fire "will take days" according to an LFB spokesman.

Posted 13/08/2012 by richard.hook@pavpub.com