Over 200 firefighters respond to fire at east London tower block

Over 200 firefighters are responding to a blaze in Dagenham, east London, as two people have been taken to hospital.

Parts of the ground to sixth floors, scaffolding surrounding the tower block, and the roof caught fire overnight.

Dozens of people, including children, have been evacuated from the building.

Plumes of smoke could be seen rising into the sky as 40 fire engines and 225 firefighters responded.

Emergency services were called to the scene at around 2.44am.

Four patients were treated at the scene, and two were taken to hospital, the London Ambulance Service said.

The London Fire Brigade described the building on fire as a mixed-used residential and commercial building.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Station commander Alan Bendell, who is on scene, said: “The fire is producing heavy smoke and we’re advising local residents to keep windows and doors closed.

“Two of the Brigade’s 32-metre turntable ladders are being used at the scene as aerial water towers to assist with tackling the fire from height.

“Freshwater Road is closed to traffic, so please avoid the area where possible.”

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 2.52am today (26 August) to reports of a fire on Freshwater Road in Dagenham.

“We sent a large number of resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, incident response officers, an advanced paramedic in critical care, emergency planning officers, a command support vehicle and members of our hazardous area response team (HART).

“We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance.”

They added: “We treated four patients at the scene and took two of them to a hospital”

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