Four fire engines and 21 firefighters and officers were called to a flat fire on Newby Place in Poplar. Fortunately, a man left the property before the Brigade arrived and no one was injured in the blaze.
Part of the ground floor flat of the three storey building was damaged by fire and crews worked hard to bring the blaze under control. Station Manager for Plaistow, Joseph Kenny, said the resident had a lucky escape:
“There was a huge amount of clutter inside the property. This fire could have been a lot worse as the level of hoarding inside the flat could have made it difficult to get out of the smoke filled property had the fire developed further.
“Blazes in cluttered homes can spread like wildfire, putting those who live in them at serious risk of injury or worse and potentially endangering our firefighters who go to tackle them.”
The Brigade was called at 1226 and the fire was under control by 1313. Fire crews from Shadwell, Poplar, Millwall and East Greenwich are at the scene.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.