Firefighters battle huge east London fire with smoke seen across city
A large fire broke out at a construction site in east London on Tuesday morning with people warned to avoid the area.
London Fire Bridge dispatched ten fire engines and around 70 crew to deal with the blaze near Silvertown Way in Canning Town.
Footage posted on social media showed clouds of thick black smoke billowing into the sky as the fire raged.
The fire brigade said the blaze broke out on the ground floor of a 10-storey commercial unit. One of the brigade’s 64m ladders had been deployed to tackle the fire.
A 13.5m ladder was used to rescue one person. There were no injuries reported.
The brigade said it received over 25 calls reporting the fire, with the first call taken at 08.23am. Firefighters from Plaistow, Poplar, East Ham and surrounding fire stations attended the scene.
It was later confirmed the fire is now under control. The cause is currently unknown and an investigation is underway to establish how it started.
Smoke from the fire could be seen for miles across London.
“I live in Hackney, a few miles away from Canning Town and I can smell the smoke from this site here,” one person said on X.
Another said: “Building on fire in Canning Town, London. Looks like a building under construction. Firemen are already on location.”
A third wrote: “Ominous scene this morning in Canning Town but police and firemen out in force, making us all feel safe. Looks like only the building sites are affected.”
