By Dan Satherley with NZN
An outdoor barbecue exploded into flames at Kiwi House in London this morning (NZ time).
The London Fire Brigade says two gas cylinders exploded. Three hundred people were evacuated from the building.
Photos uploaded to Twitter by Andrew Scott (@Andrew_Scott) show a blaze outside the building.
"One of the gas hoses to the BBQs caught on fire," he wrote on Twitter. "Extinguishers didn't work, since then there have been 3-4 explosions…Everybody seemed to get out quickly."
Some of the photos showed flames up to a storey high.
Brook Johnstone, 55, from Port Waikato, said: "I looked around and the gas bottle had a little flame around it.
"The cook was trying to put it out and the flame just got bigger so I just said, 'Let's get out of here.' We got inside and everyone was evacuated."
Johnstone, who is in London on holiday, said the canister exploded with such force that it blew the roof off the barbecue area.
New Zealander and Leeds University student Sonia Holland said she did not believe anyone was injured in the blaze.
The 19-year-old, from Napier, said: "They got everyone out of the building as fast as they could. I was out within two minutes."
The fire brigade later confirmed no one was injured.
"People in the vicinity reported hearing an explosion, which was due to two gas cylinders exploding before firefighters arrived on the scene," says fire station manager Richard Welch.
"Crews have now brought the blaze under control and are cooling a further two gas cylinders down to make them safe. Around 300 people were evacuated from nearby buildings and as a precaution we've set up a temporary safety cordon of around 50 metres."
The blaze took two engines and 10 firefighters to quell.
The official Twitter account for Kiwi House said the venue was now closed.
"We've had a rather large fire engulf the outdoor bbq area. Everyone is ok. We're closed till further notice. More updates as they happen."
It is not known if it will reopen for the rest of the Games.
Kiwi House bill itself as a "haven for friends, family and proud supporters of the New Zealand Olympic Team". It's located in Kings Cross, in central London, and has been a popular spot for typical Kiwi pastimes like drinking beer, watching the Games on TV and barbecues.
Olympic medal winners including rowers Eric Murray, Hamish Bond and Mahe Drysdale as well as Valerie Adams and Simon van Velthooven had visited the temporary bar, along with hundreds of fellow New Zealanders.
Ms Holland said she was not aware of any athletes in attendance at the function when the explosion occurred.
3 News / NZN