DOZENS of firefighters and 10 fire engines responded to a blaze in Blackwall, east London, just hours after putting out a huge fire nearby in Dagenham.

Half of a flat and balcony on the 25th floor of the 45-storey tower block at New Providence Wharf, Biscayne Avenue, was alight, the LFB said this afternoon.

Dylan Lee, 28, who saw flames and smoke billowing from the structure while at his apartment in Canary Wharf opposite, said: “Around 13.25, an alarm rang out when I noticed smoke billowing from the apartment.

“Debris and pieces had fallen from the balcony, glass shattered and caused the fire to expand and engulf the space, with flames reaching out as the wind carried the smoke.”

He said the fire brigade arrived 20 minutes later and added: “I felt dread, especially considering this is the second apartment fire in 24 hours in east London alone.”

A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade told the Star that according to its record, the first crews arrived on-scene at 13:36, eight minutes after it was alerted to the fire (at 13:28).

Firefighters were battling the flames in Blackwall at the time the paper went to print, and the cause was not immediately known.

This story was updated on August 28, 2024, adding in the London Fire Brigade’s record of events.