A fire has devasted a block of flats in East London in the early hours of this morning.
The fire has now been brought under control by firefighters who arrived quickly at the scene – responding within six minutes.
The fire was so serious that it took 40 fire engines and an estimated 225 fire fighters to battle the blaze, using the latest firefighting technology, including a drone. Four people were treated on scene by the London Ambulance service and two were taken to hospital.
In an official statement from the London Fire Brigade, London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe described the scene:
“The first crew arrived within five minutes and the second crew arrived within six minutes. To allow us to focus our resources on the incident, we declared a major incident, which has now been stood down.”
Although everyone has so far been accounted for, the area was cordoned off and over 100 residents evacuated to a local sports centre. The fire took place at the Spectrum Building in Freshwater Road in Dagenham.
Although at the time of writing the exact cause of the fire is still unknown, there has been issues with the buildings cladding, which was in the process of being removed.
Speaking on the Twitter / X platform, London Fire Brigade Commissioner Andy Roe talked of the dedication and bravery of the services that tackled the situation:
“I’m immensely grateful to crews and officers who have operated in dangerous conditions to rescue people and bring the incident under control.”
The Asian Standard talked with local residents and a business owner – all of whom have family in the flats, about their experiences.
Shafiul, who lives near the building, talked of his horror as the situation unfolded:
“It’s come as a shock. My son’s nursery is on the ground floor. From the pictures that I have seen it’s completely wiped out the inside, the playground outside as well
The fire took place during the night, so luckily the nursery was empty. I first heard helicopters and multiple fire engines around 2AM.
From what I have heard, everyone has been evacuated. My son started his nursery back in November, A month or two later scaffolding started going on to replace the cladding, because of fire safety. The nursery did notify me that there are some fire issues within the building, but I don’t know much more than that.”
Thomas Matthew is another local resident who’s brother and family live in the flats. Thomas spoke to the Asian Standard while carrying bags full of supplies to help his brother and family.
“I think it may have been an issue with the cladding. My brother has an apartment there.”
When asked to recount his experience of the emergency, he continued: “My brother called me at about half two in the morning, saying that there is a fire in the building, I’m coming out of the building, please help me. I live five minutes down the road in my house.
“I saw my brother in his trousers only, with his wife and his baby in his arms.
“At first the fire seemed quite low on the building, in around five minutes time the fire engine came, and by then the flames went all the way to the top.
“He came out into the corridor, there wasn’t any smoke – it was OK to walk around. The fire seemed to happen outside of the building, not inside. He saw the flames though the window. The firemen knocked on the doors and got everyone out quickly.”
Habib Bajwa is the manager of a local shop, Stop and Go Groceries.
“In the morning, when we came to set up the shop we noticed a big fire over there in a street near our shop. My daughter used to live in the flats but has left around two weeks ago. The fire brigade and police arrived very quickly.” He told Asian Standard
“There had been some construction there, with scaffolding for around six months, but we didn’t really know what was going on. I have been in the building a few times to visit my daughter – everything seemed OK.”
Residents have been evacuated to a ‘rest centre’ at Becontree Health and Leisure centre, with fire brigade officers and members of community support teams stationed there to provide care and support.
Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has spoken out on the situation, stating:
“Our thoughts are with all those affected by the fire in Dagenham at this very difficult time.
We are in close contact with the London Fire Brigade, council and other agencies on the ground to ensure those affected are being looked after.”
