LONDON – A blaze that broke out at London’s historic Somerset House on Saturday required around 125 firefighters to bring it under control, according to the London Fire Brigade.

Smoke was seen rising over central London from the building’s roof as firefighters worked from a crane to douse the flames. The building was once home to the Royal Navy but is now used as a cultural center. A gallery inside the complex houses Vincent Van Gogh’s self-portrait of himself with a bandaged ear.

Somerset House Trust director Jonathan Reekie told Britain’s PA Media that the fire broke out in the west wing of the building, where offices and back-of-house facilities are located. There are “no artworks in that area,” PA Media reported Reekie as saying. Around 125 firefighters and 20 fire engines were deployed to Somerset House, according to the London Fire Brigade.

The crews fought flames located in part of the building’s roof, the fire brigade said in a statement, with two of the brigade’s 32-meter (nearly 105 foot) ladders being used. It said the brigade had been called shortly before midday and had brought the fire under control by shortly before 7 p.m. local time. The cause of the fire is not yet known, the statement said, and Somerset House has been closed to the public. (CNN)…[+]