Fire ravages major kosher supermarket in London’s Golders Green, electrical fault blamed

A large fire broke out Wednesday morning at the largest kosher supermarket in Golders Green, a heavily Jewish neighborhood in London, raising fears of another antisemitic incident in the area that suffered a terror attack last month, just meters down the road. However, police later said it appeared to be caused by and electrical fault and was not being investigated as arson.

Videos posted to social media showed thick smoke and flames coming from the back of the Kosher Kingdom supermarket, located on Golders Green Road, the main artery through the neighborhood. On its website, the store claims to be the largest kosher supermarket in Europe.

Over 100 fighters battled the blaze for several hours, accompanied by over a dozen firetrucks.There were no reports of injuries.

It came with the British Jewish community on high alert following a spate of antisemitic attacks, including the terror assault and the torching of four ambulances owned by a Jewish organization, both in Golders Green.

Jay Shah, 70, who works at Kosher Kingdom, said he had received a phone call that there was a fire impacting the store.

“I think it’s from the warehouse at the back,” he told AFP at the scene, noting it contained freezers, fridges, and machinery.

The moment the fire started to spread inside Kosher Kingdom, Golders Green’s largest kosher supermarket, this morning around 6.50am???? pic.twitter.com/0N0DhP2q2W

— Dov Forman (@DovForman) May 27, 2026

A video shared on social media showed concerned locals in the morning looking in through the front window of the store at a fire that could be seen at the back.

In a statement, the fire service urged local residents to avoid the area and keep their windows closed. A number of roads in the area were closed.

“The fire is affecting a ground floor shop and a storage area to the rear of the shop,” the service said. “The fire is producing a significant amount of smoke and we’re advising people in the area to keep their windows and doors shut at this time.”

It said 15 fire trucks and over 100 firefighters were dispatched to deal with the blaze, with a 32-meter turntable ladder also deployed. The service said that around 6.47 a.m. it began to receive calls about the fire, with some 59 people calling in the blaze.

@GBNEWS stated that, "The @LondonFire Brigade advised residents to stay away from the area while fire crews tackle the blaze." pic.twitter.com/YaGyHTNDQs

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By early afternoon, London Metropolitan Police said in a statement, “Following further inquiries alongside the LFP, the fire is not being treated as suspicious and is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.”

“We understand the concern and disruption this incident will have caused to the local community and those living and working in the area. We would like to reassure residents that there is no indication of any targeted or deliberate act,” the statement said.

“There was damage to property but, fortunately, no injuries were reported,” police noted.

Local resident Caroline Levey told the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper that though she had heard it was an accident, people were still on edge due to the recent spate of antisemitic attacks.

“I was talking to other local people, we were really worried it was another antisemitic attack,” she said. “It is just devastating, utterly devastating.”

“We all thought it was antisemitism and it may still be,” Levey noted speaking before the police update. “There needs to be a thorough investigation.”

In September 2008, a fire broke out in the Kosher Kingdom warehouse, which also required dozens of firefighters to extinguish, the Jewish Chronicle newspaper reported at the time.

That fire was reportedly caused by an electrical fault.

Last month, a man stabbed two Jewish men, seriously injuring them, in an attack that happened only just meters away from Kosher Kingdom, on the other side of the road.

The stabbing took place some 300 meters away from the site of an arson attack in March targeting four Hatzola ambulances parked outside a synagogue. The vehicles were completely destroyed, though there were no injuries.

Recent months have seen arson attacks on synagogues and community sites in and around Golders Green, in north London, which is home to a large Jewish population.

A little-known Iran-linked group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), has claimed responsibility for many all the incidents, according to SITE Intelligence Group.

In response, London police has created a new “community protection team” to protect the Jewish community in the capital, initially comprising 100 extra officers.

It combines neighborhood policing with “specialist protection and counter-terrorism capabilities,” the force said last month.