Firefighter broke down a door to extinguish the smoke “pouring” from behind a Newington Green shop sign this afternoon.
The London Fire Brigade are still at the scene outside Turkish baklava patisserie Antepliler and cordons are in place either side of the Green Lanes shop.
The Brigade are investigating how the fire started.
Dell Sigh lives a few buildings down but his smoke alarm still went off and he could smell burning from his flat.
He told the Gazette: "It was unbelievable, I thought that sign might even blow up the smoke was so bad. It took them about 20 minutes just to break down the door."
Ahmet Ustunsurmeli, whose owned the business since 1993, said: "They think it [the fire] started behind the sign but the investigation team is here."
Begum Tezcan, who works at the shop, added: "We were sitting inside. We made breakfast and it was smoking everywhere, after I'm calling [the Brigade]."
Micha Blue, who lives above in a flat above the store, said her flat "filled up with smoke" from the sign.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here