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Firefighters Tackling Large Blaze At East London Tower Block Thought To Have Grenfell-Style Cladding

Firefighters Tackling Large Blaze At East London Tower Block Thought To Have Grenfell-Style Cladding

The building is thought to have cladding similar to Grenfell Tower

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

Firefighters are battling a large fire that has started in a tower block in East London.

New Providence Wharf, near to Canary Wharf, caught fire this morning and more than 100 firefighters and 20 appliances have been working at the site to tackle the inferno.

The fire is thought to have engulfed three floors of the building, which - according to the PA news agency - had 22 percent of the same cladding as Grenfell Tower.

Two adults have been taken to hospital for the effects of smoke inhalation and 38 adults and four children were treated at the scene.

Survivors' and relatives' group Grenfell United said in a statement: "We are horrified by the news of the fire at the New Providence Wharf today.

"When will the Government take this scandal seriously? Enough is enough.

"The Government promised to remove dangerous cladding by June 2020 - it has completely failed its own target and every day that goes by lives are at risk.

"Today more people have lost their homes in another terrifying fire.

"The Government needs to treat this as an emergency and stop stonewalling residents who are raising concerns. No more games, no more excuses."

Grenfell Tower, in West London, burned down on 14 June 2017, resulting in the death of 72 people.

London Fire Brigade said: "Twenty fire engines and around 125 firefighters have been called to a fire at a block of flats on Fairmont Avenue in Poplar.

"Firefighters are tackling a blaze at a 19-storey block. Parts of the eighth, ninth and 10th floors are alight.

"The Brigade's 999 Control Officers have taken 13 calls to the fire.

Twitter/Alex Thorpe

"The Brigade was called at 0855. Fire crews from Poplar, Millwall, Shadwell, Plaistow, Whitechapel and surrounding fire stations are at the scene.

"The cause of the fire is not known at this stage."

A statement from the London Ambulance Service read: "We were called at 9.05am this morning (7 May) to reports of a fire on Fairmont Avenue, E14.

"We have sent a number of resources, including ambulance crews, clinical team managers, an incident response officer, a command support vehicle, an emergency planning and resilience office, and our hazardous area response teams.

"They have treated a number of people and remain at the scene, where they are working with other emergency services."

It was reported at the start of the year that the cladding on the building - aluminium composite cladding similar to that used on Grenfell Tower - had not been removed three and a half years after the tragedy in North Kensington.

A government report revealed that the cladding was still in place in January, despite the Housing Ministry promising £200 million to remove the dangerous material from 170 privately owned towers around the country.

According to the East London Advertiser, one of those companies that had failed to remove the cladding was Landor Residential, which is a listed subsidiary of Ballymore developers, the company that built New Providence Wharf.

Twitter/Alex Thorpe

As of January, work had not started on 38 privately owned high rise flats inhabited by thousands of people, even though the government money has been available for two years.

The company explained that the work on the building, which is inhabited by more than 1,000 people and overlooks the River Thames, is complicated.

In a statement in January, Ballymore said: "To replace elements of a facade under these circumstances is an extensive process.

"We have a project team in place which has already committed months of work to arrive at a workable and cost-effective solution."

Ballymore said in a statement on today's incident: "Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this morning's fire at New Providence Wharf.

"The safety of our residents is paramount and we are working closely with the London Fire Brigade.

"We can confirm that the fire was quickly brought under control by the Fire Brigade and is now extinguished. Our response team are on-site to support residents and assist with alternative accommodation where necessary.

"We will update once we have more information."

Mayor of Tower Hamlets, John Biggs said: "The fire at New Providence Wharf has shocked our community and our thoughts today are with everyone who has been affected.

"While today's fire has been devastating for many people, it could have been far worse were it not for the actions of the brave firefighters on the scene.

"The council has worked with local hotels to provide respite for the residents affected and we'll be working with the fire brigade and others to get people back to their homes as soon as its safe.

"While we need to wait to better understand the causes of today's fire, the fact that four years after the Grenfell disaster there is still flammable cladding on so many high rise buildings is scandalous.

"The Government just hasn't gone fast enough to force developers and building owners to take action."

Featured Image Credit: Twitter/AT London

Topics: UK News