Residents who fled fire say block was 'not safe'

Residents in an east London tower block have questioned whether their homes were safe after a major water leak in the building because hours later a fire broke out.

One man died and more than 50 others were made temporarily homeless after the blaze on the 17th floor of Neutron Tower, Poplar shortly after 04:30 BST on Saturday.

The building was evacuated while the water was being pumped out. Residents were advised by the London Fire Brigade (LFB) to return home once that work was complete but some fear the leak led to an electrical fault, causing the fire.

The LFB said all residents' concerns would form part of its investigation with the Met Police and urged people not to speculate.

The water leak was caused by a pipe burst in the roof which resulted in large puddles throughout the building on Friday evening.

Resident, Lou said she did not think the building was safe when they returned after the flood.

"It was safe enough for the electricity to be turned off in the building, but it was left on our flats, which I find really problematic.

"I feel that there should have been a thorough assessment by professionals and they should have determined whether it was safe for us to return or not and I don't believe that happened.

"We were just basically allowed to go back into a building that was severely water damaged in certain areas and unfortunately just a few hours after that a fire happened so I don't believe it's a coincidence. I believe that they are linked."

Shabana, who has lived on the sixth floor of the tower for 11 years, said: "The day before, the whole building flooded.

"We were told an hour later when they stopped the water... we were told it was safe for us to go back in, when it clearly wasn't.

"We shouldn't have been allowed to go back in in the first place."

She said she was alerted to the fire on Saturday morning by a neighbour banging on her door.

Having woken her son, they rushed out of the building.

"The floor was wet and in pitch black, we were climbing down the stairs as there were no lights in the communal area, so we didn't know where we were going.

"And as we got out we saw the 17th floor was on fire and it was going up to the 18th floor.

"It was unbelievable... it's really traumatic standing there and watching and hearing that someone lost their life."

Several residents have also told BBC London that no alarms activated during the fire and they had to find their way out of the block in darkness, as no emergency lighting triggered.

The BBC understands the electricity supply had been turned off in communal areas following the flooding but it remained switched on in individual flats.

Ayaz Rahman has lived on the seventh floor with his disabled wife for five years.

He told BBC London he had to carry his wife down the stairs to escape.

"I carried her. It was dark, it's wet.

"When we're coming down the stairs, it is dark, everyone is using the torch on their phones, everyone is anxious, it's scary, people are crying.

"There was no fire alarm, that's the most devastating thing."

Hala, who lives in the second floor of Neutron Tower said the flooding the previous evening had been severe, affecting all 22 storeys.

"It was just puddles of water everywhere. Communal areas just flooded with puddles of water."

She also said water had gone into flats and soaked carpets.

Describing the fire itself, she said: "Around 4:20am, I heard an explosion and then I heard two people screaming, a man and a woman.

"There was no fire alarm, there was nothing at the time.

"I just started hearing the fire trucks come in and the ambulances."

Other residents said they were woken up by neighbours banging on their doors shouting to warn them, as they did not hear alarms either.

LFB deployed 10 fire engines and 70 firefighters to the tower and spent two hours bringing the flames under control.

Responding to residents' claims, LFB's assistant commissioner Pat Goulbourne said: "We are aware of concerns raised by residents regarding fire safety within the building.

"These matters form part of the ongoing investigations and will be subject to a detailed examination."

He said he would not comment further on specific allegations, as the full facts had not yet been established by investigators.

First Port, which manages the building on behalf of residents, previously said: "We are deeply saddened by the death of a man at Neutron Tower, and our thoughts are with his family, and everyone affected by this incident.

"The circumstances surrounding the fire are currently subject to active investigations. It would not be appropriate for us to speculate on, nor comment on, specific matters that may form part of those investigations."

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