Fire crews rescued two people and led a further 10 to safety from a block of flats on Maybury Road in Barking during the early hours of this morning.
Crews wearing breathing apparatus rescued a man from the ground floor and a woman from the first floor of the building. A further ten people were led to safety uninjured. The fire left a five roomed maisonette on the ground floor badly damaged.
The Brigade was called at 0059 and the fire was under control by 0152. Four fire engines and 21 firefighters and officers from Barking and Ilford fire stations attended the incident. The cause of the fire is under investigation.