Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner who is also Housing Secretary has visited Becontree Leisure Centre in East London, where people made homeless by the major fire incident in Dagenham are being temporarily housed and supported by police, council and fire brigade representatives.
In the wake of a full investigation into the fire being launched by the fire brigade into the causes of the fire, Ms Rayner visited both the scene of the fire in Freshwater Road in Dagenham, and a support centre for residents in a local leisure centre, where residents of the flats can stay until they can safely return home.
Speaking on the issue of fire safety in situations such as these, Ms Rayner stated her distress of seeing the effects of the fire, but also praised the work of the emergency services:
” It was incredibly horrific to see the level of damage to the flats, but also heroic to see the front-line emergency workers that were here on the scene – on a bank holiday, in the early morning, making sure that they got everyone out safely while they got the fire under control.”
Commenting on the issue of the fire safety of the flats, Ms Rayner stated: “We still have far too many buildings that have got this cladding on that needs to be removed and there’s a responsibility to make sure that that is removed as quickly as possible.”
Ms Rayner stated that she with be meeting with safety regulators to “press home the urgency to make sure that the work is done”
Also at the rest centre was Solomon Nasir, who works at local hospitals King George and Queens as an A&E receptionist. He gave his experience of the major fire incident: “That
night I was at King George’s hospital during the fire, we had several patients. None of them were severely harmed, they were tested for Carbon Monoxide poisoning, but overall, they were OK.”
Asked about the emotional state of the people effected by the fire, he continued: “They were very stressed, and this was made worse by the long waiting times – I felt sorry for them.”
Also in attendance during the visit was Dan Bacon, Inspector for Barking and Dagenham neighbourhood policing team. He outlined what was happening at the Becontree Heath Leisure Centre: “There has been a serious fire, involving a block of sixty flats, with a large number of residents who have been displaced. In a situation like that they have to go somewhere where they will be safe, where local authorities police and other services can make sure that they are fed, watered and housed.
With a large amount of people being displaced like that we need somewhere they can be made comfortable and accommodated as quickly as possible.”
Asked about how the people in the leisure centre are coping, he continued: “They are absolutely devastated. There is quite a lot of damage to properties caused. They can’t get back to their homes as there is work being done to make sure that they are secure and safe. They are asking when they can get back to their properties.”
“We are making slow progress. The Fire Brigade have informed us that it is a very dangerous situation. They have to ensure the structure of the building is safe. The residents have an open invitation to be here until they are safe to return home.”
Dan talked about what happens next: “The next step Is the structural engineers to make sure it is safe for the fire brigade to go in. Then they will decide whether there is any property inside that is salvageable. If that’s the case, then they will be invited in to check for themselves – but that will be up to the structural engineers and the fire brigade.
Until then the leisure centre is available for respite, to give them food and updates.”
When asked about the investigation about the causes of the fire, he stated: “There will be an investigation of the causation of the fire, especially one of this scale. There will be an investigation into anything that exacerbated the fire, made it worse or whether there is any criminality involved. If it is determined that there is any criminality, then our senior investigator will take over.”
