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London high rise undergoing cladding work hit by fire
Around 40 firefighters were called to tackle a fire at a high-rise block, which is undergoing cladding replacement work, in west London.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said that 70 people were evacuated from Gaydon House – which is roughly two kilometres from Grenfell Tower – before firefighters arrived. One man had to be assisted from the 16th floor of the block and was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.
“Most of a four-roomed flat on the 17th floor of a 20-storey block was damaged by the fire,” the LFB said.
The block, which is owned by Westminster Council, had the aluminium composite material cladding removed nearly two years ago but cladding replacement work is still ongoing. Inside Housing has asked the council how far progressed the replacement work is.
The incident at Gaydon House was first reported to the LFB at 09:55am. The LFB was able to bring it under control by 10:45am. Crews from Paddington, North Kensington, Kensington, Euston and West Hampstead attended the scene.
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Gaydon house is one of a number of blocks within the Little Venice towers in the Paddington complex to have undergone cladding remediation work in 2017.
A letter to residents dated 18 September 2017 said: “All cladding should be removed by November 2017 and replaced by April 2018.
“We have begun removal at Princethorpe and Wilmcote towers and plan to start on Oversley and Polesworth towers this week, followed by Bricklow and Gaydon towers from Monday 25 September.”
A spokesperson for Westminster Council confirmed to Inside Housing that “there has not been any cladding on the building for over two years”.
The LFB said the cause of the fire is under investigation.
