Firefighters attended a devastating blaze at a commercial property in East London’s Dagenham, following over seven reports from the public.
Calls came into the London Fire Brigade a little before 1:00am, and crews were called out from stations at Dagenham and nearby Ilford.
Around 25 individual firefighters worked together to tackle the fire that broke out at the grocer’s on Oxlow Lane, which has apartments located above it. While under control in less than an hour of crews arriving onsite, fire utterly destroyed the ground floor, along with the canopy out front. A spokesperson for London Fire Brigade commented on the scene:
“On arrival crews saw smoke and flames coming from the shop’s external electrical sign and the grocery display stand below.”
Crews entered the building equipped with breathing apparatus to conduct a thorough search of the property, ensuring all inside were safely outside.
Owners of commercial properties, from supermarket outlets to high-street shops, must ensure that adequate fire safety measures are taken on their premises, including hands-on equipment like extinguishers and early warnings systems such as alarms and detectors. Firms enlisting a fire alarm fitter in Chester, London and other UK cities should only use certified professionals to install safety devices.
Although no one was injured in the incident, a joint investigation between the Metropolitan Police and the Fire Brigade has now been opened to determine the cause of the blaze. The incident has been deemed “suspicious” following information received by the police revealing that witnesses saw several items ignited in front of the store.