The London Fire Brigade will be investigating the role of cladding in a fire in a Dagenham apartment block, following a major incident in which 20 people needed to be rescued.

More than 80 people were evacuated from a tower block fire in Freshwater Road, Dagenham in the early hours of 26 August. At least 20 occupants were rescued by firefighters, while two were taken to hospital. 

The building was in the process of removing the non-compliant cladding and replacing with A1 VitraDual compliant cladding, specified by architects GAA Design.

after a fire enforcement notice was issued in 2023. The Guardian reported that a planning application document shows remedial work was underway to remove and replace non-compliant cladding on the fifth and sixth floors which contained flats.

The Fire Brigades Union has said the fire “exposes the national scandal of flammable cladding and deregulation in the building industry.”

A full evacuation was carried out, and a search and rescue operation followed; the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said that everyone in the tower had been accounted for. LFB said that the building “has a number of fire safety issues known to them.”

Around 225 firefighters were deployed to the scene on Freshwater Road at 2:45 am as the fire took hold in the building, including the scaffolding around it and the roof. The fire crews were able to prevent the building from being destroyed.

LFB assistant commissioner Patrick Goulbourne commented: “This incident is clearly going to require a very complex investigation, not only to get to its cause but to get to an understanding of the fire spread.

“That will form part of our investigation in the coming days.”

Later the same day, a fire at a high rise residential building in Blackwall, east London was brought under control by LFB. It broke out in a flat on the 25th floor of a 45-storey building on Biscayne Avenue.

Ten fire engines, around 70 firefighters, and two aerial ladders were dispatched and had successfully tackled the fire, the brigade said. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

The two incidents come in the week before the publication of the final report of the inquiry into the causes of the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.