A year after Grenfell, residents f lee tower block fire in London
MORE than 40 residents fled a tower block yesterday after a blaze broke out on the 12th floor.
Amid fears of another Grenfell Tower disaster, they rushed to safety as flames and thick black smoke billowed from the 21-storey building.
One resident said the building was protected by cladding that was fire-proof.
An elderly couple were helped out of Grafton House in Mile End, East London, after almost 60 firemen were dispatched in response to more than 90 emergency phone calls.
Syed Nahid Uddin, 25, said the fire started in his sister’s flat. ‘It was a cooker fire, but we don’t know how it started yet,’ he said. ‘My sister was doing housework when she smelled smoke and went into the kitchen to find the oven on fire. Luckily her one-year-old son was staying with another relative at the time so she was in the house alone.
‘She immediately alerted a neighbour and when they realised they couldn’t contain the flames they shut the front fire door and left the building. A neighbour called emergency services.’
Mr Uddin, who works for East End Homes, which maintains the block, said: ‘The building is coated in fire-proof cladding. It was deemed safe after an inspection following another fire in late 2016. After Grenfell there were further checks.
‘Grenfell residents were failed by the authorities. I’m relieved we haven’t experienced similar circumstances here. It obviously could have been much worse.’
Fire crews were dispatched at 12.28pm and were able to get the fire under control by 2pm. An ambulance crew was dispatched and paramedics treated three people at the scene. No one needed hospital treatment.
The London Fire Brigade said that most of those who left the building did so before its crews arrived. The cause of the fire is being investigated. Built in 1970, Grafton House has 130 flats, one central staircase and two lifts.
The building has two smoke detectors on every floor which do not sound an alarm but open vents to clear smoke, according to a report published in March. It is understood to have the same ‘stay put’ policy as at Grenfell, where faulty cladding helped the fire spread.
Kevin Lopez, 24, who lives on the sixth floor with his twin brother and his mother, said he realised there was a blaze four floors above him when he heard sirens.
He looked out of his living room window and started to see black embers falling from above.
‘My first thought was “Get out”,’ Mr Lopez, 24, said. ‘It’s just been the anniversary of Grenfell so it was a bit scary.’