Major operation reported: 225 firefighters fight major fire in high-rise building in east London

A huge fire has engulfed a residential and commercial block in east London.

Forty fire engines and around 225 firefighters are responding to the fire in Freshwater Road in Dagenham; the London Fire Service has declared a major operation.

More than 100 people were evacuated from the building and two people were taken to hospital.

Shortly before the fire broke out, authorities were busy removing the facade cladding of the high-rise building.

Valcan, a leader in architectural cladding systems, posted on Facebook last week that it was working to remove “non-compliant cladding” on the building.

London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said: “The London Fire Service is aware of a number of fire safety issues. The building was immediately fully evacuated and a major search and rescue operation is currently underway.”

The scaffolding around the building is on fire, as are parts of the ground floor up to the sixth floor and the roof, said the LFB, which was called to the fire at 2:44 a.m. on Monday.

The latest updates can be found below.

Important points

• Forty fire engines and 225 firefighters called to the fire on Freshwater Road

• More than 100 people were evacuated from the building and two were hospitalized

• According to the London Fire Brigade, there were “known” safety issues in the building

• A recreation center for evacuated residents has been set up nearby

• People were asked to avoid the area and keep windows closed because of the smoke.

Pictured: A block of flats destroyed by fire

10:49 , Daniel Keane

Interior Minister thanks LFB for quick response

10:28 , Daniel Keane

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper thanked the emergency services for their quick response to the fire.

She tweeted: “My thoughts are with everyone affected by the major fire in Dagenham. Thank you to London Fire Brigade and all emergency services on the scene for their bravery and quick response.”

“I and @ukhomeoffice ministers are receiving updates on the incident from our operational partners.”

Resident describes how he rescued “frightened” children from burning building

10:15 , Daniel Keane

Dinesh Raj, whose six-year-old daughter was staying with friends in the building when the fire broke out, told the BBC that the children were “calm now” but were initially “frightened”.

Mr Raj said he received a call at around 3am from his friend, who was looking after his daughter, telling him there was a fire in the building.

The father told the BBC that he rushed to the scene of the accident in his car. His friend's family grabbed the six-month-old baby and his daughter and got out when they smelled smoke.

Grenfell United sends message after fire

10:00 , Daniel Keane

Grenfell United has sent its best wishes to the victims of the Dagenham fire.

The group representing survivors and relatives of the Grenfell Tower fire tweeted: “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the fire in Dagenham this morning. We hope all residents are safe and receiving appropriate care from the authorities 💚.”

The fire in Grenfell Tower on June 14, 2017 burned for 60 hours and claimed the lives of 72 people.

Injuries “minimal” due to quick response by LFB, says MP

09:39 , Daniel Keane

Margaret Mullane, Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham, said the number of injuries from the fire was “minimal”.

She tweeted: “Horrific scenes in Dagenham this morning as @LondonFire tackled the fire on Freshwater Road. Thanks to their quick response there were few injuries.”

“I will be visiting the rescue centre today to see what help and support I can offer to the residents and businesses who have lost everything.”

Before the fire, work was carried out to remove the cladding of the block

09:27 , Daniel Keane

As it turned out, the authorities were in the process of removing the facade cladding of the high-rise building shortly before a devastating fire broke out.

Valcan, a leader in architectural cladding systems, posted on Facebook last week that it was working to remove “non-compliant cladding” on the building.

In a photo posted by the company, the fifth and sixth floors are covered with scaffolding.

Cladding is an outer layer attached to the main structure of a building.

Since the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, activists have been calling for the removal of unsafe cladding from buildings.

What is a serious incident?

09:21 , Daniel Keane

In the event of a major incident, the LFB can increase its firefighting resources.

According to its website, the LFB sets up a command unit when a major disaster is reported.

An incident commander creates a plan to manage the incident based on several factors, including the number of firefighters and potential hazards and risks.

In pictures: Firefighters try to extinguish fire in high-rise building

09:03 , Daniel Keane

Rest area set up near crime scene

08:51 , Daniel Keane

A recreation centre has been set up at Beacontree Heath Leisure Centre, Mr Goulbourne added.

“Officials from our partners are stationed there to assist the residents,” he said.

Mr Goulbourne also reiterated the LFB's appeal to residents to keep windows and doors closed to avoid smoke.

LFB was on site within 5 minutes

08:50 , Daniel Keane

Patrick Goulbourne, head of operations and deputy commissioner of the LFB, gave an update from the scene of the accident.

He said officers were on the scene within five minutes of the initial call.

“A full evacuation was carried out simultaneously and an extensive search and rescue operation is still ongoing.”

LFB will publish an update shortly

08:35 , Daniel Keane

The London Fire Brigade is expected to provide an update on the fire shortly.

We will have all the latest updates from their press conference here.

More than 200 firefighters remain on site.

LFB uses drones to assess the situation

08:22 , Daniel Keane

The London Fire Brigade is using drones to assess the impact of the fire on the building.

London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said the fire service was also using 64-metre turntable ladders and 32-metre aerial ladders to give emergency managers a “good vantage point to assess the situation”.

“The Brigade has made extensive strategic arrangements to deal with the incident and a recovery centre has been established at Beacontree Health and Leisure Centre. LFB officers are stationed at the recovery centre to support residents,” he added.

Residents are asked to keep their windows closed due to smoke

08:11 , Daniel Keane

Dagenham residents were asked to keep their windows closed to avoid smoke.

Station manager Alan Bendell, who is on site at the scene, said: “The fire is producing heavy smoke and we advise residents to keep windows and doors closed.”

“Two of the brigade’s 32-metre-long turntable ladders are being used on site as aerial water towers to assist in firefighting from heights.

“Freshwater Road is closed to traffic, so please avoid this area if possible.”

Serious incident reported and major search operation underway

07:59 , Daniel Keane

The London Fire Brigade declared a major operation this morning in response to the fire.

London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said the move would allow the brigade to “focus our resources on the incident”.

He said: “The London Fire Brigade is aware of several fire safety issues in the building. A simultaneous full evacuation of the building was carried out immediately and an extensive search and rescue operation is underway.”

“The brigade's incident commanders responded to 16 calls for help with the fire and successfully provided a number of people with vital information to help them survive the fire using our Fire Survival Guidance app. This app enables timely, accurate and consistent information sharing between incident command and the scene.”

Video shows how fire engulfs apartments

07:52

Pictures from the scene show the extent of this morning's fire.

225 firefighters on site – four people treated by LAS

07:49 , Matt Watts

Fire crews from Dagenham, Ilford, Romford, Barking and surrounding fire stations are on site.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We were called at 2.52am today (26 August) to a fire on Freshwater Road in Dagenham.

“We dispatched numerous resources to the scene, including paramedics, emergency responders, a critical care paramedic, emergency planning dispatchers, an emergency vehicle and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART).

“We also dispatched the rescue helicopter from London.

“We treated four patients on site and took two of them to hospital.”

People were told to avoid the area

07:48 , Matt Watts

Station manager Alan Bendell, who is on site, said: “The fire is producing heavy smoke and we advise residents to keep windows and doors closed.”

“Two of the brigade’s 32-metre-long turntable ladders are being used on site as aerial water towers to assist in firefighting from heights.

“Freshwater Road is closed to traffic, so please avoid this area if possible.”