Dagenham fire: Two taken to hospital and 100 evacuated as blaze engulfs London tower block

Firefighters have stood down from responding to a major incident after a tower block fire in east London.

More than 100 people were evacuated and two taken to hospital after a fire engulfed a building in Dagenham, east London, which the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said had “known” safety issues.

All of the building’s occupants have now been accounted for, according to LFB, following a simultaneous evacuation and “significant” search and rescue operation.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Forty-five engines and around 225 firefighters responded to the blaze as it engulfed the mixed-use commercial and residential building on Freshwater Road, including scaffolding surrounding the property and the roof.

London Fire Assistant Commissioner Patrick Goulbourne said the first three fire engines arrived within six minutes.

More than 80 people were taken to safety by fire crews, he said, adding that 20 rescues “including using fire escape hoods, which can provide 15 minutes of clean, filtered air in smoke-filled environments” also took place.

“The building has a number of fire safety issues known to London Fire Brigade,” Assistant Commissioner Goulbourne also said, as he paid tribute to the emergency workers who tackled the fire “in the most dangerous conditions”.

Four people were treated by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) at the scene, with another two taken to hospital.

It’s not yet known what caused the fire, but the building’s “non-compliant” cladding was in the process of being removed, according to a Facebook post from a contractor.

Questions around the role of cladding in the fire will “form part” of the “full” investigation into the incident, the LFB said.

Meanwhile, residents have been taken to rest area that has been set up at a nearby leisure centre.

Assistant Commissioner Goulbourne urged people to avoid the area, and asked that residents keep doors and windows closed because the blaze was still producing heavy smoke.

A resident who lives on the first floor of the building told the BBC he was awoken in the early hours of Monday morning by one of his neighbours frantically banging on his door.

The resident, who did not wish to be named, said his neighbour had been doing the same for all the flats in the corridor.

He said he saw “explosive” flames and was relieved to get out safely.

Karthick Kannaiah and his wife Meghana rushed out of their flat with their six-month-old baby and their friend’s six-year-old daughter after waking to the smell of smoke.

Mr Kannaiah said he had opened the window to see flames after his wife told him the scaffolding outside was on fire.

“We opened the door and saw people rushing towards the stairs. We somehow got out of the building with our baby,” he said.

The six-year-old’s father told the BBC that his friends and daughter were “calm now, but terrified” when the fire broke out.

Dinesh Raj said he got a call that the building was on fire at about 03:00 and rushed to the scene in his car.

He said the family got out immediately after they smelled smoke, grabbing their six-month-old baby and his daughter.

By the time they were out of the building the fire had spread to the top floor, he said.

Forty fire engines and 225 firefighters were sent to Freshwater Road, which has been closed to traffic. The LFB used a drone to assess where efforts need to be concentrated.

Station commander Alan Bendell is at the scene and said: “The fire is producing heavy smoke and we’re advising local residents to keep windows and doors closed.

“Two of the brigade’s 32-metre turntable ladders are being used at the scene as aerial water towers to assist with tackling the fire from height.”

Several ambulances are parked nearby, and the LAS said the air ambulance was dispatched.

“We treated four patients at the scene and took two of them to a hospital,” a spokesperson for the ambulance service said.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper thanked firefighters and other emergency workers for their “bravery and swift response” to the fire.

Crews from Dagenham, Ilford, Romford, Barking and surrounding fire stations are at the scene.

LFB describe the property as a “mixed-used residential and commercial building”.

In 2022, the government introduced the Building Safety Act – in response to the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 – making sure most leasehold owners of flats were protected from the costs of dangerous cladding.

The government also introduced a scheme forcing developers and social landlords to take steps to replace unsafe cladding, or risk facing being banned from building residential properties in England.

According to government figures published last week, 4,630 residential buildings measuring 11m and over in height have been identified as having unsafe cladding as of the end of July this year.

Half of these buildings have started or completed works to remove the cladding. Only 29% of these buildings have finished remediation works.