EXCLUSIVE: Four people rescued from flat after fire breaks out in shop below

Four people had to be rescued from flats above a shop after a fire broke out in the building.

Twenty five firefighters in four engines tackled the blaze at the shop on Woodford Avenue, Gants Hill, east London, yesterday, Friday, November 8 2024.

A four-roomed flat on the first floor of the three-storey building was partially damaged by fire, and the stairs connecting the ground and first floors were fully destroyed.

The story was broken within an hour of it happening by our sister TikTik account NewsJunkie - see it here.

A London Fire Service spokesperson said: "Four adults suffering smoke inhalation were led to safety by firefighters from a first-floor window using a three-piece ladder, three of whom were taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service.

"The Brigade's 999 Control Officers gave vital Fire Survival Guidance (FSG) to those inside the building on how to stay safe before firefighters arrived."

Assistant Commissioner Patrick Goulbourne said: "The Brigade's FSG app enables Control Officers to manage incidents like this one, where multiple people within a building have contacted the Brigade and require possibly life-saving advice on staying safe.

"The app also allows information to be quickly and accurately exchanged between Control Officers and firefighters at the scene so safety advice can reflect any changes as the incident develops."

Control Officers received around five calls to this fire, with the first call received at 0003. Control Officers mobilised crews from Ilford, Hainault and Leytonstone fire stations to the scene. The fire was under control by 0048.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by London Fire Brigade and Metropolitan Police Service.

A Met Police spokesperson said: "In terms of Met Police involvement, officers were called at 12:12am to assist with road closures."

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 12.01am to reports of a fire incident in Woodford Avenue.

"We sent a number of resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, a paramedic in a fast response car, members of our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) and an incident response officer.

“Our crews treated four patients at the scene. Two were taken to hospital as a priority, another was also taken to hospital and one patient declined further aid and was released at the scene.”

A police car remained at the scene last night, according to an onlooker.

A force spokesman said: "They are still working to determine the cause of the fire. Appears the car was there last night/this morning as they hadn’t had a chance to finish forensic work so that will continue today."