Fire crews are tackling a fire at a bathroom showroom near Luton airport after properties were forced to evacuate.
A major incident was declared on this morning after the blaze tore through a bathroom showroom on Selbourne Road, situated close to the town's railway line.
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service dispatched 10 fire engines alongside specialist vehicles to the scene shortly after 6am.
Residents on nearby Wingate Road were forced to leave their homes, while people across the surrounding area were urged to shut windows and doors because of thick black smoke billowing from the building.
Bedfordshire Police confirmed officers were called to the premises at 06:18am and were coordinating with the fire service to secure the area.
The service appealed to the public not to ring 999 to report the blaze, noting that its control room was extremely busy.
Firefighters encircled the burning structure, deploying water jets, three aerial platforms, two water carriers and an incident command unit to bring the blaze under control.
Crews from neighbouring Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire were called in to assist.
A Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "Firefighters have worked incredibly hard in challenging circumstances to extinguish the fire and it is anticipated the fire service will be on scene for the rest of the day. All people are accounted for."
At least four road junctions around Selbourne Road remained shut while the operation continued.
The vast quantities of water required to fight the fire left local residents facing reduced or no water pressure.
Affinity Water confirmed a technician was on site monitoring the situation and asked households to avoid running washing machines or dishwashers until the issue was resolved.
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The Luton blaze is just one of many raging across Britain today.
A separate fire broke out beside railway tracks in Feltham, south-west London, shutting the lines and triggering widespread disruption, leaving South Western Railway services stranded at Waterloo station.
Both fires followed a government emergency alert sent to millions of mobile phones on Friday evening, warning of an acute wildfire risk across the country.
The notification urged people to refrain from lighting anything that could start a fire, specifically mentioning barbecues, campfires and fireworks, as Britain endured yet another punishing heatwave.
Blazes have swept multiple parts of the country in recent weeks, stretching fire services to their limits.
The surge in fires coincided with the UK smashing its 2026 temperature record, as thermometers reached 38.5C at Kew Gardens in London.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that the emergency wildfire alert "came directly from Fire and Rescue Services" as blazes continued to ravage communities nationwide.
Earlier this week, on Thursday afternoon, a fire ripped through Stourbridge in the West Midlands, completely destroying 19 homes and damaging a further 18, with families forced to flee as flames spread through the area.
The cause of the Luton showroom fire has not yet been established.
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