Image: London Fire Brigade
Fire has torn through a block of flats in London’s Barking that was recently completed by housebuilder Bellway.
A total of 15 fire engines and around 100 firefighters were called to the block on De Pass Gardens where the ground floor to the sixth floor of the block was alight.
Twenty flats were destroyed and a further ten were damaged by heat and smoke.
One man and one woman were treated on scene suffering from smoke inhalation. Fortunately no other injuries were reported, according to the London Fire Brigade.
The brigade was called at 1531 and the fire was under control by 1804.
The fire occurred just weeks after residents on the estate raised concerns with Bellway about the fire safety of wood cladding on the building, following a BBC Watchdog report claiming that some new homes developed by the firm had “potentially dangerous” fire safety issues.
According to a post on the Barking Reach Residents’ Association’s Facebook page, residents were assured that the cladding was fire retardant and therefore safe.
A spokesperson for Bellway said: “We are taking the matter very seriously and working with all parties to help in establishing the cause of the fire.”
