A probe into a “nightmare” fire that tore through a multi-storey building in east London is set to examine the role cladding played in the blaze, the London Fire Brigade has said.
All people were “accounted for” after the fire on Monday engulfed the building in Dagenham which had “known” safety issues, the LFB added.
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.Questions around the role of cladding will “form part” of an investigation into the fire, LFB has said.
The brigade was called to the blaze in Freshwater Road at 2.44am, and 45 engines and around 225 firefighters responded to the incident.
Twenty people were rescued following a “significant search-and-rescue operation”, after the fire broke out in the building that is used for residential and commercial purposes, said LFB. More than 80 people were evacuated.
Four people were treated at the scene by paramedics, with two taken to hospital.
The fire service said the blaze engulfed the whole building, including scaffolding surrounding the property and the roof.
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.”
Another resident described the incident as “very terrible” and said he was coughing up “black“ from the smoke.
Sam Ogbeide, who lives on the fourth floor, told reporters: “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.
Mr Ogbeide said it was very busy in the building’s stairwell with fellow residents who “didn’t bring anything” when evacuating, with some still “naked”.
He said: “I’ve never experienced something like this in my life. Everything is gone. I don’t know what to do.”
Asked if he felt OK, the resident added: “I’m not feeling OK. All my mouth is bitter because I feel the smoke in me.
My thoughts are with all those affected by the fire in Dagenham overnight, and I remain in close contact with the @LondonFire Commissioner and emergency services who worked tirelessly through the night to gain control of the fire.
— Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) August 26, 2024
“When I cough, you see the black.”
Mr Ogbeide later told the PA news agency he did not see any water sprinklers in the building, but did hear a fire alarm.
Another witness living near the building said he heard people “screaming” as the incident unfolded.
Ahmed, 44, of Kemp Road, which is a few hundred yards from the property, told PA: “When I woke up, I saw the fire engines, the helicopters and obviously the smoke everywhere.
“People were screaming.”
In a statement about the fire on Monday, Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, criticised MPs for putting the “interests of big business above human life” by repeatedly ignoring warnings related to “deregulation in the building sector” and building cladding.
He said: “Hundreds of thousands of people continue to live in buildings like it, with various failings in fire safety. This is a national scandal.
“For decades, the FBU has warned of the risks of deregulation in the building sector.
“Politicians have put the interests of big business above human life.
“As we saw at Grenfell Tower, this can have horrific and tragic consequences.
🚨 NEW | Today's high-rise fire in Dagenham exposes the national scandal of flammable cladding.
— Fire Brigades Union (@fbunational) August 26, 2024
We applaud the dedication of firefighters who attended and carried out rescues, and our thoughts are with residents.
But this should never have been allowed to happen. [1/2] pic.twitter.com/3YqEwhFn9s
“Time and time again, these warnings have been ignored by public authorities and by central government.”
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.
