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Man rescued from fire at council block in London
On 20 August, a man was rescued from a fire on the 10th floor of a block of flats owned and managed by Lewisham Council.
Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters were called to the fire in Dacres Road, Sydenham, at 3.40pm on Tuesday. It was brought under control by 5.16pm.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said crews in breathing apparatus rescued the man, who was wearing a fire-escape hood, via an internal staircase.
The hood provides people with protection from fire gases by temporarily filtering toxic smoke.
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The LFB said it received more than 20 reports that the 10th floor of the tower block was alight, along with part of the building’s roof.
The block of flats, known as Deepdene Point, was managed by Lewisham Homes before the ALMO went back under direct control of the council last year.
Lewisham Council said in a statement on X that they would be “working with the LFB to support those affected”.
Local residents were advised to keep windows and doors closed. Road closures were also in place and people were asked to avoid the area.
The LFB said crews from Forest Hill, Beckenham, West Norwood, Bromley and surrounding fire stations were at the scene.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Earlier this year, Lewisham Council was found to have failed to meet the consumer standards of the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) because of fire safety actions.
In a regulatory notice, the RSH found that Lewisham Council was not meeting the required outcomes of the standards and there was the potential for “serious detriment” to tenants.
Although the council had carried out fire risk assessments for all relevant blocks, more than 5,000 fire safety actions were overdue, of which more than 200 were high-risk actions.
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