United Kingdom: Firefighters declare a second fire in a new block of apartments in London
The event occurred hours after firefighters responded to a call to extinguish the blaze in Dagenham. This fire led to the evacuation of 100 people from the buildings. Two of them were taken to the hospital where they are recovering from their injuries.
Image of firefighters extinguishing the fire that broke out on Aug. 25, 2024 in Dagenham in London.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) reported this morning that a second fire had broken out in a new block of buildings located in Blackwall, a neighborhood in London (United Kingdom).
Daily Mail reported that a total of 10 trucks as well as 70 professionals were deployed to put an end to the blaze that engulfed half of an apartment and a balcony on the 25th floor of a 45-story building block.
As can be seen in the images, the fire originated in the Charrington tower, belonging to the New Providence Wharf real estate complex, where authorities asked residents to stay in their homes with doors and windows closed to prevent the fire from spreading.
Firefighters rushed to the scene after receiving more than 100 calls alerting them to the fire, whose origin is unknown and which has now been brought under control thanks to the work of departments deployed in Millwall, Plaistow and Shadwell, among others.
Dagenham, focus of the first fire
This is not the first fire that London has experienced in recent hours. Less than a day ago, another fire occurred in Dagenham, which required the work of 225 specialists and 45 fire trucks to extinguish the flames that devoured the entire commercial and residential mixed-use building.
London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe told BBC that the building had previous safety problems and was feared to be inadequate for possible fires:
"The building has a number of fire safety issues known to London Fire Brigade."
For that reason, the expert detailed, authorities carried out "a significant search and rescue operation is under way." More than 100 people were evacuated, and two had to be admitted to the hospital for treatment of their injuries, none of them serious.
The fire was declared extinguished at 7:30 p.m., and residents of the apartments were able to return, gradually, to see if their home had been affected and retrieve their valuables.
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