Dagenham fire: Two taken to hospital after blaze engulfs east London tower block
2 min read
An investigation is under way after two people were taken to hospital and more than 80 were evacuated after a fire engulfed a block of flats in east London with “known” safety issues.
A major incident was declared following the blaze in Freshwater Road, Dagenham, with 45 fire engines and around 225 firefighters rushing to the scene after the alarm was raised at 2.44am on Monday.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said 20 people were rescued following a “significant search-and-rescue operation” and that everyone has now been “accounted for”.
An investigation into the fire has begun, during which questions around the role of cladding will “form part” of the probe, the LFB’s Assistant Commissioner Patrick Goulbourne said.
When asked by reporters at the scene “how big a part did cladding play” in the fire, and how close the incident was to a “bigger disaster”, he said: “What I wouldn’t want to do is pre-empt an investigation.
“This was a very, very dynamic incident, and clearly it’s going to require a very complex investigation, not only to get to its cause, but to get to an understanding of the fire spread – so it’s it’s too early at this time to be able to give any detail on that, but that will form part of our investigation in the coming days.”
The fire had engulfed the whole building, including scaffolding surrounding the property and the roof.
The building was undergoing “remedial” work to remove and replace “non-compliant cladding” on the fifth and sixth floors containing flats, according to a planning application document.
Sam Ogbeide, who lives on the fourth floor, described the fire as “very terrible” and said he was coughing up “black” from the smoke.
“I opened my main door, smoke was coming in from the window – I live at the back. I saw it (the fire). Very terrible, very terrible,” he told reporters.
Mr Ogbeide said it was very busy in the building’s stairwell with fellow residents who “didn’t bring anything” when evacuating. He says he did not see any water sprinklers in the building, but did hear a fire alarm.
The fire had engulfed the whole building, including scaffolding surrounding the property and the roof.
The building was undergoing “remedial” work to remove and replace “non-compliant cladding” on the fifth and sixth floors containing flats, according to a planning application document.
Sam Ogbeide, who lives on the fourth floor, described the fire as “very terrible” and said he was coughing up “black” from the smoke.
“I opened my main door, smoke was coming in from the window – I live at the back. I saw it (the fire). Very terrible, very terrible,” he told reporters.
Mr Ogbeide said it was very busy in the building’s stairwell with fellow residents who “didn’t bring anything” when evacuating. He says he did not see any water sprinklers in the building, but did hear a fire alarm.
About The Author
