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Flats inferno: 300 flee in panic as blaze engulfs London homes
Kiran Randhawa and Ross Lydall26 Nov 2009
More than 300 people fled a massive blaze that spread to their homes from a building site early today.
The fire, covering an area equivalent to half a football pitch, also gutted a pub.
Residents watched in horror as cars exploded, their windows were broken by the heat and gardens devastated by the 80-foot flames.
Up to 180 firefighters tackled the blaze, which started at about 4.30am and swept through the whole of the site in Carisbrooke Gardens, Peckham. It spread to several three and four-storey blocks of flats and maisonettes in Sumner Road and Rosemary Road.
More pictures: Fire rips through Peckham estate
A 15-year-old girl living opposite gave a dramatic account of how she ran to warn neighbours that a “wall of fire” was threatening their homes.
Abbey Inaloz said her bedroom windows were cracking and when she looked out she could see an entire building on fire. “I initially woke up because my granddad had gone to the toilet and noticed the building site opposite us was on fire,” she said.
“I could hear the windows cracking and I could feel the heat in my bedroom. It was so hot.
“I was in a state of panic and remember screaming and running out of the house, knocking on all the doors of my neighbours to alert them. The heat was so overwhelming that I had to put a blanket over my head as I couldn't breathe. I just remember everything being orange. When I tried to leave my house the door handle was so hot I burnt my hand.”
Miss Inaloz continued: “Once I had got all my neighbours up we went and stood together outside, comforting each other. There were a few elderly people who were really distressed and crying. It's been very scary.”
Altogether, 310 people were evacuated by police and taken to emergency council accommodation. Ten, including two police officers, received hospital treatment but none was believed to have suffered serious injuries. Twenty ambulances were on standby.
One resident, Judy Morris, said she woke up to what sounded like “hail stones” beating against her bedroom windows. When she looked out she was faced with 80-foot flames.
The 49-year-old caterer said: “My shed and my fence and the back part of the garden were all on fire. Everything was completely destroyed. Luckily there was a strong wind pushing the flames away from the house and so we were saved. If that hadn't happened I don't think we'd be here now.”
Another witness, Beatrice Ghartey, told Sky News: “Cars were blowing up. It was just really scary. The blaze was moving towards us. I called the fire brigade and could not even talk. I was literally screaming fire.' ”
It comes nearly five months after six people died when a fire ripped through the Lakanal House block of flats in nearby Camberwell. Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman, who is MP for Camberwell and Peckham, visited residents at the scene and spoke to fire chiefs as the flames began to die down. She said that is was “a miracle” nobody had lost their life in the fire.
“I think people are absolutely shocked that, just a few months after the devastating fire in Lakanal House in Camberwell, there should be such a massive fire in this area again,” she said. “But I am incredibly relieved.”
She added: “When you are burnt out, you lose all your possessions. You don't have your mobile phone. You don't have anything. You just have the night clothes you stand up in. So it is a question of really helping people to get clothes so that they can go to work and get uniforms so their kids can go to school."
A London Fire Brigade spokesman said the fire appeared to have “spread very rapidly” and gas cylinders may have been involved.
Paul McKenzie, owner of the Golden Lion pub in Sumner Road, told how the windows shattered as he fled.
London blazes
10 July, 2009. Soho: Smoke was seen for miles as 100 firefighters tackled the blaze in an office block. Nearby buildings were evacuated.
3 July, 2009. Lakanal House: Three children and three adults died in the 12-storey block in Camberwell. About 30 people were rescued.
9 February, 2008. Camden Market: The 100ft flames destroyed a large part of the market and gutted the Hawley Arms pub — a haunt of Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty.
2 January, 2008. Royal Marsden Hospital: Nearly 100 patients were forced to flee the cancer hospital after a fire took hold on its roof. There were no casualties.
12 July, 2006. Bow: A six-storey warehouse was destroyed. On the same day in Colindale, an area was evacuated after a building site fire.
More pictures: Fire rips through Peckham estate
Reader views (10)
All the one-stop-shops the council run in the area are accepting, food, blankets, food donations if anyone can spare something.
These people need some help.
- P Staker, Londonistan., 26/11/2009 17:05
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I live 100 meters from the fire site and was woken up at 4:30 AM hearing sirens and multiple explosions. In my sleepy state the first thing I thought was that it was Al Quaeda being chased by police.
- Thomas, Peckham, London, 26/11/2009 14:31
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Who were running the building site?
- Alec Barnard, Camberwell, London, 26/11/2009 13:09
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you,re house burns down ; then Harriet Harman turns up! How unlucky can you get?
- Jim, london, 26/11/2009 12:46
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Damn!! I used to use that pub, many years ago.
Sherman if you are still running it. Sorry to hear about this bad news.
- Reay, london, 26/11/2009 12:26
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- Glynne, Lexington, KY, USA
"there aren't any viable alternatives to using them"
So how come the biggest construction site in Europe (The Olympics) manage without them?
- Dc, London, 26/11/2009 12:07
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Jack, if stored properly, leaving the cylinders onsite is the safest thing to do, and in 99% of cases, there aren't any viable alternatives to using them, the problem with propane or acetylene cylinders is improper use & storage. As for a 200m exclusion zone, in a worst case sceanario, if a propane cylinder does explode, pieces of the cylinder can easily travel 10 times that distance & cause significant strctural damage, the Kent Fire Brigade can confirm that.
- Glynne, Lexington, KY, USA, 26/11/2009 11:20
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While it's good to know that no one was killed or seriously injured in this fire, it just goes to show how dangerous timber framed buildings can be, and indeed are. Imagine how much worse it could have, and would have been, had the building been finished & occupied, especially if the relevant fire precaution & building codes hadn't been followed completely, as always happens on sites like this, I've seen that in both the UK & the US.
- Glynne, Lexington, KY, USA, 26/11/2009 11:07
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This is nothing less than a fiasco. How long can we go on hearing about gas cylinders and 200 m exclusion zones causing residents to leave homes. Gas cylinders have been banned from the Olympic building site and basically there are a host of alternatives. These clyinders at the very least should be taken off site at the end of the woking day and stored in a secure area.
- Jack Spratt, Richmond, Surrey, 26/11/2009 08:34
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I was awakened by a big explosion ...
- Wojtek,Kacper, LONDON,Peckham,Ashmore Close., 26/11/2009 07:39
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