Flats below the 17th floor flat in Dunedin House, Manwood Street, were evacuated and people nearby were told to stay away from the huge plumes of smoke. No injuries have been reported and the cause of the initial fire is unknown. Footage from the scene shows smoke rising from the top floor of the building. Firefighters are simultaneously battling a blaze involving around a hectare of grass across the block, which is close to London City Airport. The fire comes a day after the UK recorded its hottest temperatures and firefighters faced their busiest day since the Second World War. London Fire Brigade said the agency’s 999 control officers had received more than 105 calls about the fire. One resident who was forced to leave the flats said he feared the blaze could be on the scale of the Grenfell disaster. “The first thing we all thought of was Grenfell Tower, we thought we were there, you know?” said the woman, who declined to give her name. As she walked away from her home, she added, “I’m trying to figure out where to go tonight with my family.” Another resident of the apartments said he had to alert his neighbors because the fire that started on the 17th floor did not raise an alarm. Read more: UK’s hottest day leaves charred remains of homes and cars Waking nightmare for Dagenham after homes burn on Britain’s hottest day Mohammad Rajib Hossain, 29, said he only heard about the fire because one of his friends in a different building called him saying he could see flames. He continued: “I had to knock on the door, you know, it’s my neighbors, I had to knock on the door and say there’s a fire. “They didn’t know, some were sleeping, nobody knows, there’s no fire alarm or anything. “There is no fire alarm in the whole building, it is inside the apartment but not outside.”
