Deptford fire: 120 firefighters sent to tackle roof fire in housing block

One resident of a block nearby noticed the fire had started just after 1pm yesterday, but flames were still going at midnight. The LFB confirmed that the fire had been fully extinguished at 00:51.

The resident added that there was a “huge amount of smoke, which was very unpleasant”.

Group commander Richard Tapp, who was at the scene, said: “This was an intense fire located in the roof of the building and fire crews worked hard in challenging conditions.

“It was a complex fire to fight and the roof of the building was destroyed.

“The fire was behind a number of voids, which meant access was difficult and led to this being a protracted incident. 

“Crews initially worked to ensure there were no people inside the building and carried out a systematic search of all flats.

“We had two of our 32m ladders and a 64m ladder on scene, which were key to stopping the spread of the fire.

“Firefighters remained at the scene throughout the night, damping down any hot spots and will be there throughout today [Wednesday].

“Our fire investigation team will be there later today to begin their work to establish the cause and investigate all aspects of this significant fire.”