More than 200 firefighters are battling a blaze in Dagenham, east London
Two people have been taken to hospital after a fire engulfed an east-London tower block.
More than 200 firefighters are battling a blaze at a building partly used as a block of flats in Dagenham, east London.
Forty five engines are at the scene in Freshwater Road following a fire at a mixed-used residential and commercial building.
More than 100 residents have been evacauted and the London Fire Brigade has declared a major incident.
The fire is producing heavy smoke and local residents are advised to keep windows and doors closed.
Freshwater Road is currently closed to traffic and people are urged to avoid the area where possible.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said it was called at 2.44am on Monday with crews from Dagenham, Ilford, Romford, Barking and surrounding fire stations at the scene.
The brigade said parts of the scaffolding surrounding the building, as well as the ground floor and the roof, were alight.
Assistant Commissioner Patrick Goulbourne gives an update at the scene in Dagenham
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said the first crew arrived within five minutes, and the second within six.
An aerial appliance also arrived in under six minutes.
“The building has a number of fire safety issues known to London Fire Brigade. A full simultaneous evacuation of the building was immediately carried out and a significant search and rescue operation is underway,” Mr Roe said.
“The Brigade’s Control Officers have taken 16 calls to the fire, including successfully giving vital fire survival guidance to a number of people using our Fire Survival Guidance App, which allows information to be exchanged between Control and the incident ground in a timely, accurate and consistent manner.
“We are also using new equipment such as drones and our 64-metre turntable ladders and 32-metre turntable ladders to provide incident commanders with a vantage point for assessing the scene. They are also being used as water towers to deliver water on to the fire from above.
“The Brigade has stood up full strategic arrangements to deal with the incident and a rest centre has been set up at Beacontree Health and Leisure Centre. LFB officers are stationed at the rest centre to support residents.”
The London Ambulance Service said it took two people to hospital.
A spokesperson said: “We sent a large number of resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, incident response officers, an advanced paramedic in critical care, emergency planning officers, a command support vehicle and members of our hazardous area response team (HART). We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance.
“We treated four patients at the scene and took two of them to a hospital.”
Dagenham and Rainham’s Labour MP Margaret Mullane said the swift response from emergency services resulted in only “minimal” injuries.
She wrote on X: “Terrible scenes in Dagenham this morning as @LondonFire tackle the blaze at Freshwater Rd.
“Thanks to their rapid response injury was minimal. I will be visiting the rescue centre today to see what help and support I can offer the residents and businesses who have lost everything.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
