Huge blaze breaks out at high-rise London flats as dozens of firefighters rush to scene

Fire in Catford

The fire has spread across multiple floors of the block

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James Saunders

By James Saunders


Published: 04/09/2024

- 14:05

Updated: 04/09/2024

- 14:56

The public were urged to avoid the area as numerous fire crews tackled the inferno

Dozens of firefighters have descended on a high-rise tower block in London after a fire tore through several flats 10 storeys high.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) swarmed to the flats on Rosenthal Road in Catford, in the east of the capital, after fielding nearly 50 reports of a blaze.


In a statement released online just before 1pm, the LFB urged the public to avoid the area as numerous fire crews tackle the inferno.

Later, footage emerged on social media showing flames roaring out of multiple windows and thick black smoke pouring into the sky.

Elsewhere in the online video, numerous fire engines and crews can be seen springing into action on the ground below as the fire continues to rip through multiple floors of the tower block.

Fire map

The LFB has closed off Rushey Green between two roads around the block of flats

GOOGLE/X

A LFB statement read: "Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters are tackling a fire at a block of flats on Rosenthal Road in Catford.

"Two flats on the ninth and 10th floors of the building are currently alight.

"Fire crews from Forest Hill, Greenwich, Deptford, Lee Green and surrounding fire stations are at the scene."

Rushey Green, the main road past the building - which comprises Rosenthal House, Capital House, an independent school and several businesses - had been closed off as the crews dealt with the blaze, the fire brigade said.

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Footage of fire in Catford

Social media footage showed fire engines down below as the fire ripped through multiple floors

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Firefighters counselled that there were "no reports of any injuries" - adding that the "cause of the fire is under investigation".

The news of the fire in a London tower block comes mere hours after the release of the final report on the Grenfell Tower disaster.

A long-running public inquiry into that blaze, which killed 70 people at the scene, and two later in hospital, published the report today into the causes of the 2017 fire - which was branded "the culmination of decades of failure" from the Government and construction industry.

Closer to the fire in Catdford, a large fire in Dagenham saw two people taken to hospital just last week.

High rise block in CatfordDozens of firefighters descended on the high-rise tower block in CatfordGOOGLE

Some 40 fire engines and 225 firefighters attended the scene on Freshwater Road, Dagenham at 2.44am on Monday, August 26.

Like Grenfell, that fire was found to have involved "dangerous" cladding, with building developers understood to have been warned about the material years ago.

There is nothing to suggest today's fire is related to any building materials used in the block of flats' construction.

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