Residents of an east London tower block where a man died in a devastating 17th-floor Fire have claimed alarms did not sound as the blaze took hold, with neighbours instead banging on doors to warn people to escape.
The man died after fire broke out in a two-bedroom flat at Neutron Tower in Poplar during the early hours of Saturday.
Two adults and a child were rescued by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus, while around 50 other residents left the building.
London Fire Brigade was called at 4.35am, with around 70 firefighters and ten fire engines responding. The blaze was brought under control by 6.41am.
Half of the two-bedroom flat and its balcony on the 17th floor were destroyed.
Residents say neighbours raised the alarm
Several residents have now described how they became aware of the emergency, claiming they did not hear fire alarms and were instead alerted by neighbours shouting and knocking on doors.
Katarzyna, who lives on the fifth floor with her husband and two children, said a resident from the 19th floor had smelled smoke.
She said: “I heard someone shouting from outside and the neighbours from the 19th floor were outside shouting, ‘fire, fire, out’.
“We grabbed our passports and got out – it was pandemonium and my husband was banging on all the doors on the fifth floor to alert neighbours.”
She also claimed the staircase was “pitch black” and there was no emergency lighting.
Katarzyna added: “We have smoke and heat alarms in our flats, they did not go off.”
Claims of flooding hours before fatal fire
Another resident, Priya Armstrong-Pond, who lives on the seventh floor, said there had been flooding inside the building on Friday, hours before the fire.
She said she was told at around 5pm that water was on the stairs and landing and described it as being “like torrential rain but inside”.
Armstrong-Pond said the building was without water for around six hours and claimed water had also entered the lifts.
She said her neighbour alerted her to the fire at around 4.30am on Saturday after hearing shouting.
“My neighbour was banging the door, there were no fire alarms going off,” she said.
She also claimed there was no lighting on the landing or stairs and said she saw no concierge helping residents as they evacuated.
The circumstances surrounding the reported flooding and whether it had any connection with the fire have not been established.
Residents placed in temporary accommodation
A number of residents have been unable to return to their homes and are staying in temporary accommodation.
FirstPort, which manages the building, said it was “deeply saddened” by the man’s death and that its thoughts were with his family and everyone affected.
The company said its immediate priority remained residents’ safety and that temporary accommodation was being arranged where required.
There is currently no confirmed timeframe for residents to return to the building, with any decision expected to be made alongside the emergency services when it is considered safe.
Fire investigation underway
London Fire Brigade said its Fire Investigation Team was examining “a range of factors” to establish the cause of the blaze.
FirstPort said it would not be appropriate to speculate about specific issues while the investigation remained ongoing.
The claims concerning alarms, emergency lighting and conditions inside the building have not yet been established as contributing factors in the fatal fire.
