Kilburn Library in Queen’s Park will remain closed “until further notice” after a fire broke out yesterday afternoon.

Sixty people were evacuated and fire crews attended after the fire broke out on the ground floor of the Victorian library in Salusbury Road at 2:54 pm.

Councillors have paid tribute to staff and emergency services who guided library users to safety.

Cllr James Denselow, Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, said: “Thanks to the swift action of council staff and the fire brigade nobody was hurt or injured during this incident and the small fire was quickly contained.

“Kilburn is a popular and well used library and council staff are now working extremely hard to get the building open again as soon as possible.”

The library is currently without power and will remain closed while repairs are carried out to damaged carpets and smoke-damaged walls.

Public areas were largely unaffected but will need a deep clean before the building is fit to re-open to the public.

A notice on Brent Council’s website said officers were “working around the clock” to repair the damage, but it is unlikely the library will re-open before the end of the week.

For more updates see the Brent Council Website.