Fire at famous Paris Ritz Hotel

A MAJOR fire broke out at the landmark Paris Ritz hotel, which was the hotel of choice for Princess Diana, Charlie Chaplin and Coco Chanel.

A French firefighter stands atop a fire ladder as a fire engulfed the top floor of Paris’ Ritz Carlton hotel, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016 in Paris. The hotel has been closed for renovations for three years and was expected to re-open in March, restored to the grandeur that drew the likes of Frederic Chopin, Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)

A MAJOR fire broke out at the landmark Paris Ritz hotel, which is closed for renovations, the fire service has confirmed.

The blaze is on the “top floor of the building and the roof”, a fire service spokesman said.

He said no one was staying in the five-star hotel and there were no casualties but a “large” part of the building was affected.

A column of smoke could be seen rising above Paris from the hotel’s location in the Place Vendome, in the heart of the city’s luxury district near the Opera Garnier.

A French firefighter ... stands atop a fire ladder as a fire engulfed the top floor of Paris’ Ritz Hotel. Picture: AP

Some 60 firefighters and around 15 fire engines were dispatched to the blaze after the alert was raised at 6am Paris time, “Our concern is to stop the fire spreading to the rest of the floor and roof,” the spokesman said.

Breaking: Fire breaks out in the Ritz Hotel in Paris via @pfroissart pic.twitter.com/iBBisjJKMq

— Derek Momodu (@DelMody) January 19, 2016

Police reported a “major fire” on their Twitter account and advised motorists to avoid the area.

The four-storey classically styled hotel, owned by Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, was due to reopen late this year after a three-year closure for top-to-bottom renovations.

Firefighters work on extinguishing a fire .. at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. Picture: AFP

The hotel of choice of Charlie Chaplin, Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway, where a small bar is named after him, the Ritz is also infamous as the place where Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed dined before their fatal car crash in 1997.

It's not the first time a fire has hit the #Ritz in Paris.This was scene in 2012 after blaze in underground car park pic.twitter.com/jdSDqMvHyP

— The Local France (@TheLocalFrance) January 19, 2016