Residents left homeless by Dagenham tower block fire slam 'utter failure' amid building's 'known safety issues'

29 August 2024, 16:45 | Updated: 29 August 2024, 18:02

Furious Dagenham residents left homeless after a fire tore through their tower block have hit out at authorities' 'utter failure' to keep them safe after they were 'fully aware of the fire safety issues'.

More than 80 people were evacuated last Monday and two residents were taken to hospital after the blaze engulfed the whole building, including scaffolding surrounding the property and the roof.

The property was undergoing "remedial" work to remove and replace "non-compliant cladding" on the fifth and sixth floors containing flats, according to a planning application document. The building had "known" safety issues, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) has said.

The residents have now spoken out collectively over the "tragedy" that "destroyed our homes" and was "entirely preventable".

Some also suggested they would be out on the streets by Monday because council hasn’t secured emergency accommodation for more than a few days.

Residents of apartment block in Dagenham make statement

Read More: Dangerous cladding progress 'far too slow,' says Rayner as she visits site of 'horrendous' fire at Dagenham flats

Read More: Dagenham fire sparks 'Grenfell 2' fears acting as a stark reminder of the ongoing building safety crisis

Philippa René, speaking on behalf of the residents, said: "Our building's fire alarm system failed to go off, denying us the critical warning we needed.

"The fire escape route, which should have been our lifeline, was padlocked shut.

"Our building lacked sprinklers and the multiple layers of management from landlords to agencies utterly failed to protect us.

"Until now we have not formally given a statement as a collective as we had hoped the council, Block Management UK, Arinium Holdings Ltd., would help us.

"The council has shown inconsistencies in its actions and it is refusing to rehouse us, leaving many without a place to go.

"Despite the overwhelming need, residents aren't allowed to access public funds, deepening the financial devastation we're facing."

The group is demanding a "thorough investigation and accountability" over the failures and is calling for additional housing support and financial assistance.

"We need answers, we need housing, we need justice," Ms René concluded.

Others speaking out expressed their fury after being "left in limbo" after "hoping for some help from the council" but finding "nothing adequate enough to support us".

One woman spoke through tears as she told LBC said she was struggling to cope and explain to her children why they could not go home.

"I haven't had a proper two nights sleep since this happened," she said, adding, "I'm tired, I've been panicking and just trying to pull myself together for my children, but it's breaking me."

Emotional Dagenham residents make plea for help after apartment block fire

Deputy Prime Minister and hosing secretary Angela Rayner visited the destroyed apartment block earlier this week where she told LBC progress on making buildings safe has been too slow.

She said residents and firefighters had faced a “fireball” in Dagenham, which came more than seven years on from the Grenfell Tower fire and just a week before that inquiry’s final report is published.

Ms Rayner spoke of how “horrifying” it must have been for them to wake up to smoke and flames in the early hours, and said it had been “incredible” that no-one had been killed.

Grenfell United, which represents many of the bereaved and survivors of that 2017 fire, said the incident in Dagenham “highlights the painfully slow progress of remediation across the country, and a lack of urgency for building safety as a whole”.

The group added that, seven years on, “the fact that when a fire happens the best we can hope for at the moment is ‘a near miss’ speaks volumes of the progress made since”.

Cladding on the seven-storey Dagenham building had been in the process of being removed, with scaffolding visible at the site and London Fire Brigade confirming there were “known fire safety issues”.

Barking and Dagenham Council said: "The building is privately owned, and no council tenants were living there. Block Management UK Ltd manage the building and we are calling on them to comply with their obligations to affected residents.

"Together with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, we will also look to recover costs from responsible parties."

Block Management UK has been contacted for comment.