Investigation begins into huge east London flat fire

Firefighters are investigating the cause of a huge blaze which saw more than 80 people forced to leave their homes in east London on Monday (August 26).

Two people were taken to hospital following the fire that broke out at the building, which London Fire Brigade said has "known safety issues".

All people have since been accounted for.

The LFB said it was called to the blaze in Freshwater Road in Dagenham at 2.44am on Monday where 20 people were rescued following a "significant search-and-rescue operation" as 45 engines and around 225 firefighters responded to the incident.

The fire service said the blaze engulfed the whole building, including scaffolding surrounding the property and the roof.

According to the LFB, the London Ambulance Service treated four people at the scene.

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.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) have said the incident exposed the "'national scandal' of flammable cladding and deregulation in the building industry".

The FBU highlighted that the fire at the tower block comes a week before the publication of the final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

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", Mr Goulbourne 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."

London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said: "The building has a number of fire safety issues known to London Fire Brigade.

"A full simultaneous evacuation of the building was immediately carried out and a significant search and rescue operation took place.

"I am pleased to confirm that everyone has been accounted for.

A resident of the building said the incident felt like "a nightmare" and that she felt "frightened to be on the street starting from zero".

Irina Vasile, 46, a healthcare assistant who lived on the second floor, said she was woken by her partner around 3am telling her there was smoke.

Speaking outside the Becontree Heath Leisure Centre where the residents have been relocated, she told reporters: "(There was) such a dense smoke all over the apartment. When we wanted to open the window, another smoke hit our face, on the throat and the eyes."

Ms Vasile said she was spotted by firefighters after shouting for help and calling 999.

She said: "We didn't grab nothing - we lost everything. The firemen bring us outside, and while I came outside, I've seen a big fire come from the building on the ground floor, and when we went further, I've seen another big fire on the top."

The resident said she did not hear a fire alarm go off during the evacuation.

She added: "My partner is devastated as well. We try to encourage one another because we lost everything. We are scared, frightened to be on the street starting from zero."

The British Red Cross said a team of the charity's volunteers are providing "emotional support" to evacuated residents at a local rest centre.

New drones were deployed to tackle the blaze, along with 210ft (64m) and 105ft (32m) turntable ladders that were used as vantage points to assess the scene and to douse the flames with water from above, he added. A major incident was declared by the LFB which was stood down at 11.03am

Crews will remain at the scene on Tuesday to carry out "further operations", he added.

The LFB originally stated that more than 100 people had been evacuated and later updated the figure to more than 80.

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