Highrise fire in Poplar East London had similar cladding as Grenfell Tower
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Emergency services responded to a high-rise in east London at around 9am on Friday May 7. The cladding was reportedly similar to that of Grenfell Tower, where 72 residents lost their lives in the infamous 2017 fire.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said around 125 firefighters were sent to Fairmont Avenue, and 25 fire engines.
38 adults and four children were treated at the scene by paramedics for shock and smoke inhalation. Two adults were sent to hospital for smoke inhalation.
Reports say the cladding in the building is made of a similar material to Grenfell Tower.
The Grenfell Tower tragedy was a huge shock to the UK the nation, and initiated a public inquiry and ongoing concerns over the safety of some high-rise buildings.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
In 2017, after the high rise fire in Grenfell Tower, It was officially determined that 600 buildings in London had the same type of cladding as Grenfell Tower.
In January of 2020, an ex-employee of the company who manufactured and fire tested the cladding, came forth and admitted that the fire testing of the cladding had been partly faked and that the company he worked for had willfully committed fraud.
According to an article in the British newspaper The Guardian, the company Celotex who supplied the styrofoam cladding to Grenfell Tower, knew that the insulation panels were not fire safe.
Celotex behaved in a “completely unethical” way, admitted Jonathan Roper under oath during a trial. Mr Roper is a former assistant product manager who was personally involved in the fire testing at Celotex.