The National Archives remains closed today after a fire broke out in a pair of nearby water towers.
The building in Kew, which is home to 11 million historic records, appeared at risk of catching alight yesterday after the fire took hold in the disused towers next to it.
Crews from Kingston, Richmond, Wandsworth, and Hammersmith fire stations arrived at the scene in Richmond upon Thames at 12.30pm and had got the blaze under control within an hour.
The towers were completely destroyed but no documents were harmed and no one was injured in the fire.
Investigators are now looking into what sparked it. The National Archives remains closed until Tuesday (February 18).
Clem Brohier, acting chief executive and keeper, said yesterday: "The most important thing is that no one was hurt and no documents were damaged in this incident.
"I have seen for myself today how quickly the London Fire Brigade got here and how staff from The National Archives swiftly put our incident plan into action and the public responded calmly and helpfully."
Tom Hewitson filmed the fire from his balcony and posted the video below on YouTube.
