Extent of damage caused by ‘huge surge’ in blazes in London not yet known

Firefighters were unaware on Tuesday evening of the full extent of the damage caused by blazes which affected houses, schools and churches across London over the course of the day, with crews describing scenes as “absolute hell”.

Residents were being evacuated from their homes and people were taken to hospital amid fires across city as temperatures soared to more than 40 degrees over the course of the afternoon.

Two “large-scale” incidents took place in Upminster and the village of Wennington, east London, where black smoke billowed into the air, while flames destroyed buildings and ravaged nearby fields.

Several other significant incidents also occurred, with people urged not to have barbecues or bonfires due to the “unprecedented” challenges crews faced.

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A firefighter at the scene in Wennington, asked by the PA news agency what conditions were like, replied: “absolute hell”, while those affected by the blaze said it had been spreading “fast”.

Two people were also taken to hospital suffering smoke inhalation following a fire in Dagenham, with the full number of casualties unknown.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) declared a major incident due to “a huge surge” in blazes across the capital.

Jonathan Smith, assistant commissioner at LFB, told the PA news agency: “We’ve had a range of incidents today, obviously a number of which have been the result of the tinderbox dry woodland and grassland both in central London and in the suburbs.

“This has caused rapid fire spread which has impacted on properties, people’s homes, schools, churches and other types of buildings.

“At the moment, because of the sheer number of incidents we’ve been attending today, we will be pulling all of that information together and making sure every incident is thoroughly investigated.

“Once we’ve done that we’ll be able to give an accurate picture of exactly the incidents we’ve attended, how many homes have been affected and if there have been any casualties.”

He said that Tuesday evening would be “critical” in ensuring the fires are kept under control, adding: “It would be premature to say we are out the other end of this incident”.

The London Ambulance Service said the total number of people taken to hospital may not be known until Wednesday morning.

The city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, said LFB had received more than 1,600 calls for assistance by late Tuesday afternoon.

He also said people should not be having barbecues anywhere in London, including in parks, private gardens, patios or balconies.

In Wennington, local residents could be seen being comforted, while others were seen removing gas canisters from a nearby pub, as hundreds of firefighters were at the scene.

At least one home could be seen completely destroyed by the fire, while others appeared to be badly damaged.

Local resident Janet Hickey, 70, who has terminal pancreatic cancer, said she was forced to leave all her cancer drugs behind as they were evacuated.

Her husband Patrick Hickey, 71, added: “We had to leave everything. We’re hoping against hope that our house is still there.”

Other locations at which multiple fire engines were dealing with incidents included Pinner, Southgate, Croydon, Dagenham, Wembley, Hendon and Eltham. - PA