Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters tackled a flat fire on Wenlock Road in Hackney.
A small part of a three-roomed, split-level maisonette on the fifth floor of a five-storey block of flats was damaged by the fire.
Around 30 people left the building before the Brigade arrived. There were no reports of any injuries.
The cause of the fire is believed to have been accidental and caused by self-heating textiles.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “These types of fires often involve textiles that become contaminated with oil, most commonly linseed, massage and cooking oil on tea towels, tablecloths and chef whites.
"Sometimes when materials are cleaned, put in tumble dryers and then folded and stacked, the heat from the tumble drying cannot escape. This can result in a high enough temperature allowing it to build up to a point where it smoulders and eventually ignites.
“If you are washing and then drying on a hot cycle, always use the cooling cycle on the tumble dryer so it cools down and allow the heat to dissipate properly, before stacking laundered items together.”
The Brigade was called at 2107 and the fire was under control at 2147. Fire crews from Islington, Shoreditch, Euston and Whitechapel fire stations attended the scene.