About 60 firefighters are tackling a fire involving two tour buses in the 02 Arena in Greenwich, south east London.
A spokesman for London Fire Brigade said the fire was in an area of the cargo bay and not in the living room or stage.
He said: “It’s much more than an incident in progress at the moment we have 12 fire engines and around 60 firefighters ..”
London Fire Brigade station manager Sally Cartwright, who is on the scene, said: .. “Two tour buses are on fire inside a loading dock at the O2 Arena sixty firefighters are working hard to bring the fire under control. Our teams are doing a fantastic job, especially taking into account the levels of smoke around here, which resulted in very difficult conditions. ”
London Fire Brigade, who was called to the scene at 8. 18am, said the cause of the fire was not known.
A spokeswoman for the 02 said the site had been evacuated. He said that evaluation is ongoing as to whether the Kings of Leon Tuesday show will continue.
She said: “The fire is under control and no injuries reported assessments currently underway and we expect a decision in the next couple of hours as to whether the kings of tonight’s show will go ahead León We will keep our web site .. updated. ”
A spokesman for London Ambulance Service said. “We were called before 0845 to reports of a fire near the Plaza 02 in Greenwich We sent an ambulance crew, a response team in hazardous areas, a support vehicle and a duty officer Our staff has tried. Six patients for smoke inhalation, but right now no one has needed additional treatment in the hospital. ”
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) spokesman said the fire was under control. “We have agents in place that have now informed that the fire is under control. It lasted to the dome at all. It is, as I said before, in the parking lot.
“In terms of the cause of the fire at this stage, both coaches are completely burned. The teams have worked incredibly well. They will remain in place for some time, as is understandable, but the fire is out,” adding: ” . The dome is well, the structure is fine. There is no damage to the structure of the dome. “He said the LFB could not confirm if the tour buses belonged to the Kings of Leon.”
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Kings of Leon are an American rock group whose music is closer in spirit to indie-rock than to the mainstream sensibilities of American contemporaries like 3 Doors Down. Kings of Leon have enjoyed more commercial success in Europe than they have in America. Still, the band’s albums command a decent amount of critical acclaim and, starting in 2008, respect from the Recording Academy in the form of Grammy nominations.
Kings of Leon are made up of members of the Followill family: three brothers (singer Caleb, bassist Jared, drummer Nathan) and a cousin (guitarist Matthew). The band formed in 2000 in Tennessee, putting out their first EP, Holy Roller Novocaine, three years later through RCA. Novocaine established the band’s sonic building blocks: Caleb’s sandpaper-gritty vocals, Matthew’s unvarnished guitars and a swinging rhythm section that had a swampy, stormy vibe to it. Novocaine contained a few songs that would soon reappear on the band’s full-length debut.
Appearing about six months after Novocaine, Youth & Young Manhood revealed that Kings of Leon were extremely confident with Southern rock, particularly the lazy grace of prime Lynyrd Skynyrd or the Black Crowes. Whether it’s the stoned sunniness of “Dusty” or the bar-band rock of “California Waiting,” Kings of Leon eschewed mainstream accessibility for a hard-edged sound whose old-school qualities drew comparisons to other retro-leaning bands of the time like the Strokes and the White Stripes. Manhood failed to even break the top 100 of the Billboard album charts, but the band began attracting a loyal audience.
2005’s Aha Shake Heartbreak came out in the U.K. several months before its debut in the United States. If Manhood suffered because of the band’s debt to their influences, Aha Shake Heartbreak felt looser and more assured, expanding into country-rock without giving in to tear-in-my-beer clichés. “The Bucket” managed to get some attention on the American charts, but Kings of Leon’s lack of mainstream success was at least partially due to the fact that the group’s lively songs were simply too understated to cross over to large audiences.
Kings of Leon got considerably more adventurous and interesting on their third record, 2007’s Because of the Times. Though still playing Southern rock, Kings of Leon had evolved into an edgy, moody band, and on the brooding love song “On Call” they showed an ability to absorb modern-rock influences organically into their sound. Because of the Times resonated with a new urgency that the band’s earlier retro-rock albums had rarely shown. They remained an indie favorite – Kings of Leon still couldn’t secure much of a foothold on American radio, although Because of the Times did go to the top of the U.K. charts.
Kings of Leon started making headway commercially with 2008’s Only by the Night. The dynamic, moody album got the nation’s attention with two blockbuster singles, “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody.” In addition, Kings of Leon also landed their first three Grammy nominations at the end of 2008 – for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Album. The band won the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals Grammy for “Sex on Fire.” Then on January 31, 2010, the band won three Grammys for “Use Somebody,” including Record of the Year.
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Kings Of Leon and Kasabian are set to play headline slots at this year’s V Festival, it has been announced.
Florence And The Machine, The Prodigy, Stereophonics, Paul Weller, La Roux and Faithless are also on the bill for the two-site event, it was revealed today (March 1).
V Festival takes place on two sites – one in Chelmsford and one in Staffordshire – on August 21-22.
The V Festival line-up so far is:
Kings Of Leon
Kasabian
Stereophonics
Faithless
The Prodigy
David Guetta
The Kooks
Paul Weller
Paolo Nutini
Florence And The Machine
Madness
White Lies
Skunk Anansie
Mika
Goldfrapp
The Temper Trap
La Roux
Newton Faulkner
Tickets go on sale on Friday (March 5) at 9am (GMT). To check the availability of V Festival tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/TICKETS now, or call 0871 230 1094.
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