Two London tower block fires in one day – questions being asked about cladding

A Dagenham tower block caught fire today, resulting in the evacuations of 80 people within the building.

Some 20 people were rescued by firefighters following the fire at Dagenham’s Spectrum House, with two being taken to hospital.

While a number of flats have been destroyed, the London Fire Brigade has brought the fire under control and said all the residents are now accounted for.

In a separate incident, there has also been a fire at Charrington Tower in Blackwall, just hours after the Dagenham blaze, both in East London.

The cause isn’t yet known for either of the two fires.

Cladding

The Dagenham building had ‘non-compliant’ cladding that was in the process of being removed.

Patrick Goulbourne, assistant commissioner at the London Fire Brigade, indicated that the issue of cladding in the tower block will form part of the investigation.

He said: “This was a very, very dynamic incident and clearly it’s going to require a very complex investigation, not only to get to its cause but to get to an understanding of the fire spread.

“So it’s too early at this time to be able to give any detail on that, but that [cladding] will form part of our investigation in the coming days.”

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said the block was subject to a fire enforcement notice in 2023, before labelling flammable cladding and building deregulation in the UK as a “national scandal”.

Matt Wrack, the FBU general secretary, said: “Our thoughts are with the residents of the tower, who have lost their homes and been left traumatised.

“Once again a fire has erupted in a residential building wrapped in flammable cladding. There needs to be an urgent and swift investigation of how this has been allowed to happen.

“Hundreds of thousands of people continue to live in buildings like it, with various failings in fire safety. This is a national scandal.”

He added: “For decades the FBU has warned of the risks of deregulation in the building sector. Politicians have put the interests of big business above human life. As we saw at Grenfell Tower, this can have horrific and tragic consequences.

“It was already known that the Dagenham tower block was dangerous. Time and time again these warnings have been ignored by public authorities and by central government. This must change immediately.”

Non-functional fire alarms

Tariq Zaid, 17, was a resident of Spectrum House who saw smoke quickly fill his fourth floor flat in the early hours of Monday morning.

He told the BBC how the alarm systems in the building didn’t seem to be operating property.

Zaid pressed one next to the stairs on the fourth floor and another at the entrance. One made a noise for a second “but there was no siren”.

He said: “One breath of [smoke] clenches your lungs, you can’t breathe, it attacks you.

“It’s a bit of a hectic thing, I’m still trying to let it sink in. We’ve lost everything but it is what it is at the end of the day.”

Blackwall fire

The fire at Charrington Tower in Blackwall was in a modern building which only finished construction in 2016.

Black smoke was seen pouring out of the tower, which is part of the New Providence Wharf complex.

The London Fire Brigade said in a statement: “Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters are tackling a flat fire in a high rise building on Biscayne Avenue in Blackwall.

“Half of a flat and balcony on the 25th floor of the 45-storey building is alight. The fire is producing a large amount of smoke. Those in the local area are advised to keep windows and doors closed and avoid Biscayne Avenue if possible.”

“The fire is producing a large amount of smoke. Those in the local area are advised to keep windows and doors closed and avoid Biscayne Avenue if possible.

“The Brigade’s 999 Control Officers have taken over 100 calls to the blaze. The Brigade was first called at 1328. Crews from Millwall, Plaistow, Shadwell and surrounding fire stations are in attendance at the scene.”

Grenfell Tower

The fires bring memories of the Grenfell Tower disaster of 2017, which killed 72 people and injured 94.

This Dagenham fire in particular brings into focus the need to quickly resolve the issue of flammable cladding blighting many of the UK’s tower blocks.

The former Conservative government forced developers and social landlords to replace unsafe cladding or be banned from building properties in England, but the process is still ongoing.

The Building Safety Act was introduced in 2022, which protected leasehold flat owners from the cost of remediating cladding.

However, as of the end of July 4,630 residential buildings above 11 metres still have unsafe cladding.

Half of the buildings have started or completed works to remove cladding, with just 29% finishing remediation works.

A final report on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry is due for release next week.