A 26-year-old woman named Cydney Parker says the fire alarms failed to go off when a ferocious fire broke out at the Spectrum building in Dagenham on Monday morning.
The Horrifying Incident
The young mother was in her pajamas when the fire broke out in the early hours of the morning in the east London tower block, but when she found that the fire escape had been padlocked, she thought she was “going to die.”
Around 40 fire engines and about 225 firefighters rushed to the blazing building, which has both residential and commercial units. According to the London Ambulance Service, four people were treated at the scene, while two were taken to a local hospital.
26-year-old Cydney described the frightening moment, telling Sky News: “I’ve looked outside and seen loads of fire engines pull up… I looked through the front door and the whole corridor is covered in thick black smoke.”
“We had to run, and we realized that the [exterior] fire gate had been padlocked shut, so we couldn’t get out. It felt like I was going to die then and there. The only way out was finding something [we could use] to jump over the fence. As we were on top of the fence, we couldn’t get down, so we were screaming at police officers to come and help us. How can they cut off a fire escape?”
The mother-of-two went on to state that many residents had complained that none of the fire alarms were working. “No alarms went off. They have gone off so many times for no reason and the time we need them to go off they didn’t go off. That block needs to get shut down and we all need to get housed – I hope they are all as angry as me,” she said.
Fire Safety Issues
The London Fire Brigade said they were aware of many fire safety issues in the building before the fire broke out. The Mirror reported that work had been underway to remove non-compliant cladding on the block, which meant scaffolding was in place around the building.
An investigation has begun to determine why the fire broke out in the first place. The LFB’s Assistant Commissioner Patrick Goulbourne said questions around the role of cladding will “form part” of the probe.
Questions
Reporters at the scene asked how big of a part cladding played in the fire and how close the incident was to a “bigger disaster.”
Mr Goulbourne said, “What I wouldn’t want to do is pre-empt an investigation. 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 it’s too early at this time to be able to give any detail on that, but that will form part of our investigation in the coming days.”
London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said: “I am immensely grateful to the crews and officers who have operated in the most dangerous conditions to both rescue people and bring the incident under control despite being faced with a significant building failure. 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 took place. I am pleased to confirm that everyone has been accounted for.”
References:
The Mirror – Dagenham fire: 100 evacuated as soaring flames rip through block of flats with 225 firefighters battling blaze
Sky News – Dagenham fire: Mother who fled tower block blaze says fire gate had been ‘padlocked shut’
