Six killed in fire at flats
Fatal blaze sweeps through tower block
Published:
SIX people, including three children, died in a fire that swept through a block of flats, emergency services said today.
A three-week-old baby, a six-year-old and a seven-year-old were killed along with three adults in the fire at the flats.
The blaze, in Havil Street, Camberwell, south London, began on the fourth floor of the 12-storey block of flats and “spread rapidly” to the 11th floor, according to London Fire Brigade.
A spokesman for London Fire Brigade six people were killed – three adults and three children.
Thirty people were rescued – these 30 people were in immediate peril and were evacuated from the building, he added.
The baby, the seven-year-old and an adult woman were pronounced dead in hospital.
Three other bodies were found at the scene – a six-year-old child, a woman in her 30s and another adult, he added.
He said the cause of the fire was still being probed and added: “There are still hotspots in the structure which could reignite if we don’t extinguish them properly.”
Police think they know the identities of the six killed in the fire and are waiting to inform next of kin and for formal identification before they release their names.
Post-mortem examinations are being arranged.
A dozen people were still being treated in hospital, mostly for minor injuries.
The Met Police said it was still too early to say how the fire at the flats started and they were working with the London Fire Brigade’s investigation team to establish the cause.
Unharmed survivors were taken to an emergency centre in a nearby church hall set up by Southwark Council and the British Red Cross, while the injured were taken to three London hospitals.
Labour MP Harriet Harman, whose constituency includes the tower block, said: “It’s clearly a very tragic situation and the emergency services are working together.
“I have been keeping Number 10 informed and I am sure the Prime Minister will be thanking the emergency services shortly.
“The main immediate concern is for the people who have died and for the people fighting for their lives in hospital.”
Architect Alastair Bowden, 31, who lives on Havil Street, said: “You can see about four floors that have been affected. It’s quite dramatic to see a tower block on fire. It has shocked everyone.”
Paul Glenny, a firefighter who battled the blaze, said: “I’ve been in the job for 30 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it.
