BT offices engulfed in tiny blaze

Staff evacuated, no casualties

By Tim Richardson • Get more from this author

Posted in Business, 5th January 2001 15:37 GMT

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BT's flagship office complex opposite St Pauls Cathedral in central London was hit by fire this morning, wiping out power and phones.

Staff - including chief executive Sir Peter Bonfield and board members - were evacuated from the property at ten o'clock this morning. The building is home to some 2,000 employees.

By lunchtime, power had been restored and some of the phone lines appeared to be working as well although it could take most of the day before services get back to normal.

Some staff were allowed to return to the building although most were told to work elsewhere or go home.

Health and safety experts are currently inspecting the building to check that it's safe.

It's understood that the tiny fire, thought to have started in electrical equipment, wiped out BT's phone system.

Sir Peter Bonfield was evacuated to an office suite nearby set aside for emergencies but returned to the building to collect some papers. ®

BT HQ hit by phone outage

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