Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus rescued a woman and man from fire in a flat above a shop on Saint James’s Street in Walthamstow, early this morning.
Crews led the pair to safety from the first floor via an internal staircase, before the man was taken to hospital by the London Ambulance Service suffering from smoke inhalation. Another woman and a baby escaped the building before the arrival of the Brigade and were also taken to hospital.
The whole of a first floor flat was damaged by fire.
Six fire engines and 35 firefighters and officers from Walthamstow, Tottenham, Homerton, Leyton and Leytonstone fire stations attended the incident.
The Brigade was called 0239 and the fire was under control at 0423. The fire is believed to have been caused by the careless disposal of cigarettes.