A fire in Bow engulfed the roof of flats above a business centre, as captured by an onlooker and the cause remains under investigation.
Flames and black smoke coming from Bow Business Centre on Fairfield Road was filmed yesterday (August 25) by @GeorgeMorgan13.
London Fire Brigade (LFB), which sent around 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines to the blaze, said the cause remains under investigation.
A large part of the roof and half of the flats on the fifth and sixth floors were destroyed in the seven floored building.
Several people captured the blaze and posted footage on social media.
Bow Business Centre roof on fire. Road closed and traffic nuts!! pic.twitter.com/T8zB4DmuxT
— Jo Royer (@JoRoyer123) August 25, 2023
Pat Goulbourne, assistant commissioner for operational control and resilience, said: "This was a challenging and complex fire but our crews worked quickly and tirelessly to restrict damage to homes and ensure that no one was hurt."
Huge #fire in Bow. Hope and pray that everyone is safe.
— Ayesha Chowdhury (@ChowdhuryAyesha) August 25, 2023
Lots of traffic in the area pic.twitter.com/KLCw69lvir
Fifteen people left the building before LFB arrived and there were no reported injuries.
Mr Goulbourne added that LFB was dealing with another significant blaze in Sutton at the time.
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Marc Francis, Labour councillor for Bow East, said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Really concerned to see this awful fire at Bow Business Centre.
"London Fire is on the scene and as local ward councillors we have asked Tower Hamlets Civil Contingencies team to support all those residents affected," he added.
At the height of the fire, 123 calls were made to the Brigade's 999 Control centre alerting them to the blaze.
The brigade was called at 6.04pm and the fire was under control by 8.48pm.
One of LFB's 64m turntable ladders and a 32m turntable ladder were deployed as water towers to tackle the flames from height.
Fire crews from Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, Homerton, Shadwell, Islington, Plaistow, Shoreditch, Lewisham and surrounding fire stations attended.
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