A second London tower block has been caught in a raging inferno just hours after a house fire sparked a major evacuation in a set of Dagenham flats.
Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters are currently tackling a flat fire in a high rise building on Biscayne Avenue in Blackwall, east London.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) say half of a flat and balcony on the 25th floor of the 45-storey building is alight.
Footage shows thick black smoke has been seen pouring out of Charrington Tower, which is a part of the New Providence Wharf delvopment complex, as locals have been advised to keep windows and doors closed.
The LFB said it was first called to the blaze at 1.28pm and that crews from Millwall, Plaistow, Shadwell and surrounding fire stations were in attendance at the scene.
The fire service added that it had received more than 100 calls regarding the blaze and that the cause is not yet known.
This inferno comes less than 24 hours after a huge blaze engulfed a tower block in Dagenham, east London, which saw more than 100 people evacuated and two people taken to hospital.
Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters are tackling the flat fire in a high rise building on Biscayne Avenue in Blackwall, east London
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) say half of a flat and balcony on the 25th floor of the 45-storey building is alight
A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade said: ‘Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters are tackling a flat fire in a high rise building on Biscayne Avenue in Blackwall.
‘Half of a flat and balcony on the 25th floor of the 45-storey building is alight.
‘The fire is producing a large amount of smoke. Those in the local area are advised to keep windows and doors closed and avoid Biscayne Avenue if possible.
‘The Brigade’s 999 Control Officers have taken over 100 calls to the blaze. The Brigade was first called at 1328. Crews from Millwall, Plaistow, Shadwell and surrounding fire stations are in attendance at the scene.
‘The cause of the fire is not known at this time.’
Two of the Brigade’s aerial ladders, including a 64 metre turntable ladder, were deployed to support firefighters as they carried out their response.
Dylan Lee, 28, who saw flames and smoke billowing from the structure while he was in his apartment in Canary Wharf opposite, said he felt ‘dread’ at the sight.
The designer and VFX artist said: ‘Around 1.25pm an alarm rang out when I noticed smoke billowing from the apartment.
‘Debris and pieces had fallen from the balcony, glass shattered and caused the fire to expand and engulfed the space, with flames reaching out as the wind carried the smoke.
‘The fire brigade arrived 20 minutes later and were tackling it from the adjacent apartment around 1.52pm.’
He said the fire brigade arrived 20 minutes later and added: ‘I felt dread, especially considering this is the second apartment fire in 24 hours in East London alone.
‘I’m hoping the residents made it out ok and the firefighters are in one piece. This was somebody’s home.’
Thick black smoke has been flowing out of the building and locals have been advised to keep windows and doors closed
More than 100 people were evacuated from a high-rise block of flats in Dagenham which became engulfed in flames in the middle of the night
This is not the first fire emergency to hit the New Providence Wharf delvopment complex.
In 2021, the 19-storey building next to the waterfront became engulfed in flames, leaving many residents trapped inside and screaming for help from balconies.
More than 125 firefighters in 20 vehicles spent hours battling the inferno and men were taken to hospital after being exposed to toxic fumes, while a further 38 adults and four children were treated at the scene for shock and breathing in smoke.
But many families weren’t alerted to the blaze by the fire alarm for more than half an hour, with one homeowner claiming they only noticed when they woke to the smell of smoke, while others were completely oblivious to the danger until messages started appearing in a neighbourhood group chat. Others found out via the news.
The fire service was also called at 2.44am this morning to tackle another multi-storey building fire on Freshwater Road in Dagenham.
LFB crew members said parts of the scaffolding surrounding the building, as well as the ground floor and the roof, were alight.
The fire service said 45 engines and around 225 firefighters responded to the blaze that engulfed the whole building. Four people were treated at the scene.
All of the building’s occupants have now been accounted for, the fire brigade said.
The property 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.
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.
Some 40 fire engines and around 225 firefighters were sent to battle the blaze on Freshwater Road, which has left two people in hospital
Barefoot residents, including children, were seen fleeing the building wrapped in sheets
Firefighters work hard to try and put the terrifying blaze out after a fire broke out in the night
Those who fled the building have told of being woken up to ‘piercing screams’ as huge flames ripped through the residential and commercial building. Barefoot residents, including children, were seen fleeing the building wrapped in sheets.
The cause of the blaze, which saw thick plumes of smoke billow into the sky, is not yet known. Some residents on the sixth floor claimed that they did not hear any fire alarm go off. Others in the block said they did not see water sprinklers.
Families who fled from the burning block of flats in the early hours of this morning spoke of their anger today.
Adding to local fury is the fact that the block had no sprinkler system nor any working communal smoke alarms in the corridors of the six-storey building.
Civil servant Emmanuelle Perraud, 54, escaped her third floor flat with 17-year-old daughter Maliha Baig, 17 and sister Alexandra Perraud, 56.
She said: ‘I’m angry and concerned that the cladding hadn’t been removed faster because the plans were in place to do so last summer and it’s taken nearly nine-months for them to start taking it down as we’ve had scaffolding around the building since January.
‘The residents complained about it being there because we all remember what happened with Grenfell Tower. Whether it was a factor in this fire, we don’t know yet but it should’ve been removed long ago.
‘I woke up around 2.30am this morning because I could hear people shouting outside.
‘I looked out the window and there was a lot of smoke. I knew we had to get out quickly.
Nearby residents have been told to shut their windows and doors due to smoke billowing into the sky
Damage from the terrifying blaze was visible on Monday morning, with firefighters still at the scene
A close-up of the damage that the fire has caused to the cladding on the outside of the building in Dagenham
Images from this morning shows burnt out parts of the building, with firefighters attempting to calm down the blaze
‘My sister was staying with me so I woke her and my teenage daughter and headed out.
‘But when I opened my front door the whole corridor was engulfed in thick smoke, which then drifted into my flat.
‘At no point did I hear any smoke alarm in the corridor – the only one that went off was the small battery-operated one I have in my kitchen – and there was no sprinkler system in the building either.
‘None of us could see a thing and we couldn’t breathe which was the scariest thing. My daughter and I inhaled some of the smoke which was really unpleasant.
‘Fortunately, there was little smoke in the fire escape so we were able to get to the ground floor and out of the block. But we were one of the last residents to escape as there was a crowd of people gathered outside along with fire crews, police and ambulances.
‘We stood watching the building burn for about three hours before we were put in buses and taken to a shelter.’
Ms Perraud and her family were evacuated to the nearby Becontree Health Leisure Centre with other residents.
Shocking photos show the burnt out building with smoke billowing out of the top
Firefighters spent the night tackling the huge blaze which started just before 3am
Firefighters tackle a fire on a tower block from a crane as efforts to put the blaze out continued into the morning
Clutching a small bag of items handed out by the Red Cross, including towels, soap, a bottle of water and a wash bag, she added: ‘It is fortunate that nobody was seriously hurt or killed but there’s some 60-flats in the block and nobody knows where or when we’re all going to be re-homed.
‘None of us know how bad the damage is to our homes or what’s happened to all our possessions.’
Ms Perraud’s sister, Alexandra, came to visit on Friday from her flat in Purley, South London.
She said: ‘We had about two and a half minutes to get out. I didn’t panic because I’ve been evacuated from my flat twice due to fire. In fact for me this morning was a case of deja vu.
‘I was evacuated from my flat in Purley when a fire broke out only a month ago. It followed a previous fire in 2021.
‘After the first fire, a sprinkler system and communal smoke alarms were fitted and regular safety checks were made.
‘I didn’t see any of that here in what is a more modern block of flats. I was really shocked by that and the fact that the cladding had still to be removed completely.’
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