Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters tackled a house fire on Keppel Road in Dagenham.
Half of the ground and first floors and most of the roof of a detached house were damaged by fire.
Station Commander Keith McDermott, who was at the scene, said: “Everyone was safely out of the building on arrival.
“One of the Brigade’s 32-metre turntable ladders was used at the scene as a water tower.
“Firefighters worked incredibly hard to contain the fire and swiftly bring it under control.”
The Brigade’s 999 Control Officers took 10 calls to the blaze.
The fire is believed to have been accidental and caused by the failure of a lithium-ion battery in a bin.
Batteries can present a fire risk when over-charged, short-circuited, submerged in water or if they are damaged, so it’s really important to store, charge and recycle them carefully using a proper battery recycling service.
The Brigade was called at 1600 and the fire was under control by 1747. Fire crews from Barking, Ilford, East Ham, Romford, Hainault and Wennington fire stations attended the scene.