THE high-rise fire in Dagenham exposes the “national scandal” of flammable cladding and deregulation in the building industry, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) warned today.

All people have been accounted for after a fire engulfed a multistorey building with known safety issues in Dagenham, east London, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said.

More than 80 people were evacuated and two were taken to hospital after the fire broke out in the building undergoing remedial work.

The fire service said 45 engines and around 225 firefighters responded to the blaze that engulfed the whole building, including scaffolding surrounding the property and the roof.

According to the London Fire Brigade, the building had “non-compliant” cladding on it and was the subject of a fire enforcement notice in 2023.

An investigation into the fire has begun, during which questions around the role of cladding will form part of the probe, the LFB’s assistant commissioner Patrick Goulbourne said.

The incident comes just one week before the publication of the final report of the Grenfell Tower inquiry.  

FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said: “Once again, a fire has erupted in a residential building wrapped in flammable cladding. There needs to be an urgent and swift investigation of how this has been allowed to happen.

“Hundreds of thousands of people continue to live in buildings like it, with various failings in fire safety. This is a national scandal.

“For decades, the FBU has warned of the risks of deregulation in the building sector. Politicians have put the interests of big business above human life.

“As we saw at Grenfell Tower, this can have horrific and tragic consequences.”

Mr Wrack said that it was known that the Dagenham tower block was dangerous, adding: “Time and time again, these warnings have been ignored by public authorities and by central government.

“This must change immediately.”

Irina Vasile, a resident of the building, said the incident felt like “a nightmare” and she felt “frightened to be on the street starting from zero.”

The 46-year-old healthcare assistant who lived on the second floor said she did not hear a fire alarm go off during the evacuation.

Another resident, Sam Ogbeide, described the incident as “very terrible” and said he was coughing up “black“ from the smoke.