Stratford fire: Terrifying moment huge blaze rips through homes leaving families trapped

Saphora Smith30 December 2016

Shocking footage shows the moment a huge blaze tore through a block of flats in east London leaving terrified families trapped.

Firefighters rescued two adults and three young children by escorting them onto the roof of the building while crews battled the raging fire from the ground.

Video, taken from a neighbour, shows firefighters using water hoses to douse the flames which raged for two hours at a block of flats in Great Eastern Road in Stratford.

Six fire engines and 35 firefighters from five stations, as well as paramedics, raced to the scene shortly after 11pm on Thursday.

Carly Fenton/Twitter

Witnesses told of the “terrifying” moment the fire ripped through the block as people screamed at the residents to get out.

Carly Fenton, 32, whose mother lives in the opposite apartment block, said she was watching TV with her brothers when she heard a big bang.

She said: “There was people already outside banging on saucepans telling the others to get out and there were a few people on the roof of the flats.

“They were screaming for anyone who was in the flats to get out. It was really scary.”

Pictures of the aftermath of the fire in Stratford
London Fire Brigade

She added: “The fire brigade did an amazing job to get everyone out safe and sound and get the fire under control.”

Father-of-three Istiak Ahmed who lives in the building told the Newham Recorder: “Straightaway I ran away with my children. It was very scary. My children were really shocked. People were screaming and crying.”

London Fire Brigade said the adults and three children suffered from smoke inhalation and were treated by paramedics at the scene.

Around 30 other residents managed to escape the building and firefighters brought the blaze under control by shortly after 1 am.

Pictures of the aftermath of the fire show burnt-out flats in the smoke-stained building.

The fire brigade said one first floor flat was completely gutted in the fire, while others were badly damaged.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

A spokesman for Genesis Housing Association, which owns the building, said: “It must have been a frightening ordeal for the residents of this block - our staff were on site very quickly and worked with the emergency services to make sure everyone was looked after.

“We have been able to successfully and quickly move those residents immediately affected to temporary accommodation while we review the situation.

“As the fire safety posters inside the buildings clearly show, the flats are designed in such a way as to contain fires as far as possible.

“Time needs to be taken to assess this incident properly, but we are clear the block complies with relevant fire and building regulations. We will now await the report from the Fire Brigade.”

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