Warner Bros fire: Firefighters tackle blaze at Harry Potter studios in Watford

11 July 2019, 12:40 | Updated: 12 July 2019, 10:41

A whopping 18 crews are reportedly tackling the unruly blaze, which broke out in the famous London studios late last night

A fire has broken out at Warner Bros studios, the famous movie location in which Harry Potter was filmed.

News of the blaze first reached firefighters last night, who were called out to tackle the flames in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, and are still at the scene.

A 75-strong force and more than 15 fire engines are currently fighting the inferno, which reportedly sparked at around 11:30pm last night.

The Chief Fire Officer confirmed the fire occurred on one of the sound stages used by the television production Avenue 5.

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Hertfordshire County Council explained to Mirror Online: "Hertfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service were called to reports of a fire at Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden in Hertfordshire at 11.29pm on Wednesday 10 July.

"Fifteen fire engines, plus support vehicles, are currently in attendance at the scene and crews are tackling a fire in one of the stages there.

"The set was not being used at the time of the fire. There are no injuries."

A statement has since been released by Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, reading: "The Chief Fire Officer has confirmed that the fire which occurred on one of our sound stages, being used by the television production Avenue 5, has been fully extinguished.

"Our principal concern is always people’s safety and we would like to thank Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Services for all their hard work in containing the situation. All productions were able to continue working and the Studio Tour was unaffected."

The famous Watford studios has been the central location for all eight Harry Potter films, along with a string of other blockbusters including James Bond, Fast and Furious and the Mission Impossible franchises.

Locals allegedly began smelling smoke late last night and have since watched it swirl up over the studios.

Nearby resident Mark Hancock told BBC News: "My house is only about 200m away from the perimeter fence and we have a clear line of sight over gardens so we managed to see it out one of our windows.

"The smoke went high into the air, and as I watched, the smoke appeared to get thicker, so much so that we could see the flashing lights of the fire engines reflecting off the thick smoke.

"It was still going strong at about 1am and when I woke up this morning it was still smouldering."

He also said a "strong smell and taste of smoke" filled the air.

It's not year clear how the fire first erupted but reports have confirmed public studio tours are "unaffected" and will be continuing as usual.