Investigation continues as it’s revealed that residents previously raised concerns around cladding.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) said 225 firefighters tackled the blaze in Dagenham, East London in the early hours on Monday (26 August) morning.
Residents of the high rise block, the Spectrum Building, had reportedly raised concerns about wooden decking and flammable cladding from 2018.
The entire block was affected by the fire, including scaffolding around the building and its roof.
The building was reportedly undergoing cladding removal prior to the fire, although the cause of the blaze is still to be investigated.
The block of 60 flats is an office-to-residential conversion, according to a report from i and planning documents reveal that the building’s remediation work was approved from 2 May 2023.
Data from the Government’s monthly remediation report shows that, to date, 50% of residential buildings identified with unsafe cladding have either started or completed remediation works.
This comes as the final report from the Grenfell Inquiry is set to be released on 4 September, with Grenfell United – survivors and bereaved families from Grenfell – saying in a statement on X: “[This was] a scenario we have warned about for seven years.
“Although we do not have all the details it seems work was underway to remove non-compliant cladding, and the building had a number of fire safety issues. This highlights the painfully slow progress of remediation across the country and a lack of urgency for building safety as a whole”.
London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said: “The building has a number of fire safety issues known to LFB. 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. More than 80 people were evacuated with firefighters leading residents out to safety and carrying out 20 rescues.
“We will now begin a full investigation into the fire and its cause. This was a very dynamic and challenging incident, and we know there will undoubtedly be concerns around the fire safety issues present within the building and this will form part of our report.”
A team of 70 firefighters also tackled a flat fire in a 45-storey building in Blackwall, Tower Hamlets on the same day. There were no reported injuries, and LFB said that the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
