The Guardian website reported a fire in Florin Court in July 3013:
Landmark art deco building in London damaged by fire.
Residents of Florin Court in Charterhouse Square were evacuated on Saturday evening after fire started in first-floor flat.
Residents of a landmark art deco building in the City of London were evacuated on Saturday evening after fire swept through part of the distinctive curved facade of the nine-storey block of flats.
Four fire engines and a specialist fire investigation unit were called to the incident at Florin Court in Charterhouse Square – better known to TV viewers as Whitehaven Mansions, the home of Agatha Christie's famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot.
Residents of the 120 flats – which include a large proportion of studio or bedsit apartments – were evacuated but nobody was hurt.
Alerted to the drama, actor David Suchet, who played the detective in the long-running British TV series, tweeted: "I am so sorry!! I do hope no-one was hurt?" In June he bowed out of the series after solving 67 cases.
The London fire brigade confirmed that a first-floor flat was "severely damaged" by the blaze, which also spread upwards to a second-floor flat, causing a small amount of damage. Smoke damage spread to six floors above and those whose homes were affected were moved to the Barbican Thistle hotel.
A spokesperson for the London fire brigade said: "We believe the fire was accidental, most likely caused by a cigarette. None of the occupants of the flat were smokers, so it's possible that someone threw a cigarette out of a window or off a roof terrace above, which then blew into an open window in the bedroom and started the fire.
"Wherever you're smoking, it's crucial to make sure you put out cigarettes fully before disposing of them, particularly in these dry conditions. Never, ever throw a lit cigarette out of a window – you have no control over where it ends up, and it could cause a great deal of damage and upset to you or someone else. It's very lucky no one was injured in this fire."
The 1930s apartment block, on the east side of Charterhouse Square and close to the Barbican estate, is considered an architectural gem of the art deco period and is popular for fashion photo shoots as well as Poirot. It is known for its distinctive curved facade, including curved glass in windows, many of which were shattered by the blaze.
One couple, who did not wish to be identified but who said they rented the flat above the one where the fire broke out, returned to look at the scene on Sunday morning and said: "There was a delivery van outside and we believe the driver called the fire brigade. It all happened so quickly but the first fire engine came within five minutes. It could have been a lot worse and we are thankful no one was hurt."
Wikipedia has an article about Florin Court that tells us:
Florin Court is an Art Deco residential building on the eastern side of Charterhouse Square in Smithfield, London.
The building has been used as Whitehaven mansions, the fictional London residence of Agatha Christie's fictional character Hercule Poirot. in the LWT television series "Agatha Christie's Poirot" (1989-2013). As well as exterior shots a number of interior shots of the building were utilised for this programme over the 24 years of production.
Built in 1936 by Guy Morgan and Partners who worked until 1927 for Edwin Lutyens, it features an impressive curved façade with projecting wings, a roof garden, setbacks on the ninth and tenth floors and a basement swimming pool. It was probably the earliest of the residential apartment blocks in the wider Clerkenwell district, immediately north of the City of London. The walls were built in beige brick, specially made by Williamson Cliff Ltd (based in Stamford, Lincolnshire), and placed over a steel frame.
Regalian Proprieties refurbished the building in the 1980s, to designs by Hildebrand & Clicker architects, providing today's interior layout and more facilities.
The building became the fictional residence of Agatha Christie's Poirot, known as Whitehaven Mansions. In 2003, the building was declared listed in the initial category of the national scheme. The windows 'grouped into bands by exposed concrete surrounds' in the listing are of thin panes with thin muntins and brutalist mullions with all types of hangings permitted. They provide a stark reminder of the World War II era being of neither traditional nor economic design.
On Saturday 20 July 2013 a flat on the first floor caught fire and the building had to be evacuated.
The building is composed of nine floors and has a total of 120 flats. In the basement are a swimming pool, a spa, a sauna, a gym, a small library, a wi-fi area, a laundry room and a garage. All spaces are communal and access is free to all residents. There are two lifts.
Florin Court is a Grade II listed building with the entry at the Historic England website telling us:
Block of 126 flats. 1936 to the designs of Guy Morgan and Partnres. Steel-framed building, with concrete floors. Portland stone plinth, with yellow brick above, laid in Flemish bond; flat roof (sun terrace) concealed behind parapet. Ten storeys over basement. The building has a recessed centre and projecting wings with curved corners, with setbacks on the ninth and tenth floors.
Eleven window range. The runs of metal casement windows follow the curves of the building, and are grouped into bands by exposed concrete surrounds. Central entrance, with curved Portland stone dwarf flanking walls, and canopy with curved and indented profile and metal fascia, flat arched entrance to underground garage in south bay. The brick work to the first and second floors, and to the piers between windows rusticated by projection of alternate course. Stylised cartouche and ribbons in brown brick over the central first floor windows; cornice to 8th floor. Wrought iron railings to area and gates to garage entrance with decorative double curves.
Interior understood to retain simplified entrance hall with doors and signage; staircases with decorative iron balustrading.
Best known as 'Whitehaven Mansions', its exterior used as the residence of Hercule Poirot in the television adaptations of Agatha Christie's novels. It is one of three exceptional blocks by the architect Guy Morgan, who set up in private practice in 1927 having worked for Sir Edwin Lutyens but who rapidly came to design in a sophisticated moderne style.