Firefighters battled to stop a kitchen fire on Brixton Hill spreading to neighbouring flats this morning.
The blaze broke out at 9.30am when a saucepan ignited at the Bombay Inn restaurant.
Firefighters in two fire appliances fought the flames, which were extinguished by 11am.
Speaking in the smoke damaged kitchen, owner Hakim Uddin told the Brixton Blog: “After starting the cooking this morning I went into the restaurant and dozed off. Suddenly there was a lot of smoke so I called the fire brigade.
“When I went through the back door the kitchen was full of black smoke and a pan was on fire. I thought ‘this could get worse,’ but then the fire engines came really quickly.”
He added: “I have been here for 12 years and we have never had a fire like this.”
The flames destroyed the extractor system and the ducting above and left thick soot in the kitchen.
A fire safety officer still at the scene at midday said: “Fortunately the fire was contained to the kitchen area and the ducting. It was a small fire.”
Uddin said it will take two weeks to replace the extractor system, but until then his customers will still be able to order takeaway food on the usual telephone number, which will be diverted to his brother’s restaurant, the Purple Chilli in Clapham.
“We can’t leave our customers hungry, can we?” he added.
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