Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters tackled a fire affecting a row of four town houses on Chester Crescent in Dalston.
The whole of the ground floor, half of the first and part of the second floor of one mid-terraced house were damaged by fire. Part of the second floors of two neighbouring houses were also damaged by the blaze, along with part of the fascia of a further neighbouring house. One woman was taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service crews after suffering from smoke inhalation.
The Brigade's 999 Control Officers received 13 calls about the fire.
Station Commander Chris Jenner, who was at the scene, said: "Two people left the house before the Brigade arrived and crews wearing breathing apparatus carried out a thorough search of the properties to ensure no one was still inside.
"The Brigade's drones were used at the scene to provide an aerial view and support Incident Commanders in developing tactics to help tackle the fire.
"Ridley Road was closed overnight whilst crews worked to make the scene safe and we urged people to avoid the area."
The Brigade was called at 0020 and the fire was under control by 0206. Fire crews from Homerton, Islington, Bethnal Green, Stoke Newington and surrounding fire stations attended the scene.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Brigade and the Metropolitan Police Service.