Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters attended a fire at a shop on Portway in Stratford.
Part of a shop, with flats above, was damaged by fire. Around four people left the flats before firefighters arrived. There were no reports of any injuries.
The Brigade's Control Officers received around 10 calls about the fire.
The Brigade was called at 1801 and Control Officers mobilised crews from Plaistow, Leytonstone, East Ham and Poplar fire stations to the scene. The fire was extinguished by 1904.
The fire is believed to have been caused by the failure of a lithium battery.