Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters were called to a fire on Brandreth Close in Beckton.
Two garden sheds were destroyed by the blaze. Three garages and part of the roofs, ground and first floors of a range of terraced houses were also damaged. Thirteen people left the buildings before the Brigade arrived. One man was taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service crews.
The fire was discovered by a resident who smelt smoke and found the fire had started between a garage and a shed.
The Brigade's 999 Control Officers took 43 calls to the blaze.
Station commander Jason Oliff, who was at the scene, said: "This was a very visible fire and our control centre took a high volume of calls to it.
"Crews worked hard to bring it under control as quickly as possible."
The Brigade was called at 1449 and the fire was under control by 1645. Fire crews from East Ham, Barking and Plaistow fire stations were at the scene.
The fire is believed to be accidental and involved an electrical supply.