Fire at council-run flat reignites safety fears

Aye Tebe on the balcony next to her neighbour’s flat. Photograph: LDRS

Aye Tebe was in her kitchen making spaghetti when she heard a “boom” and the crash of broken glass. Soon there were fists pounding on her front door as shouts rang out from the corridor, urging everyone to leave. The hallways filled up with smoke as the occupants of Fellows Court piled out of their flats on the 11th floor, stumbling towards the stairwells. “We couldn’t even see the steps,” Ms Tebe said.

Ten fire engines with 70 firefighters were called to the scene on the Hackney estate at 7:20pm on Friday, February 27, after an explosion engulfed a split-level maisonette on the 11th and 12th floors. It took an hour to suppress the blaze which incinerated much of the property and blackened the concrete walls. Residents waited in the community centre next door for hours before they could return.

There were no fatalities, though one girl received minor burns on her face and hair. The family living in the scorched flat, who wished to keep their identity private, have been placed in a hotel as the council looks to rehouse them in temporary accommodation.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is yet to establish the specific cause of the inferno. At present they believe it was triggered by an electrical incident. Yet the episode has revived fears around fire safety in a housing block beset by disrepair – and a malfunctioning alarm system.

David Coleman was in his car when he got the message from another resident alerting him about the fire. But as he drove down Kingsland Road towards Shoreditch he could already see the north tower for himself, where one window was glowing amber.

The fire broke out on 27 February. Photograph: LDRS

Coleman’s immediate fear was that it would take too long for occupants to realise what was happening. “No-one normally leaves the flat when alarms go off. There are so many faults, half the people don’t listen,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). “So I put a voice note on the group – shouting – telling everybody to get out.”

Hackney Council staff had already visited Fellows Court that week after residents reported multiple faults on the fire alarm system since Wednesday, February 25. On Thursday the monitor went blank, before repairs teams came to fix the problem.

A council spokesperson told the LDRS the issues with the fire alarm were “not system-wide and would not have stopped the fire alarm sounding when the fire broke out”. When the LDRS visited on Monday (March 2), the alarm systems at both Fellows Court and the community centre next door were signalling faults once again.

Concerns around fire risk go beyond these alert systems. Behind the wall panels in the corridors, where cladding was removed in 2019, sit several pipes – along with rubbish and corroded plumbing left there after replacement works. Around the bases of the ducts are several holes exposing the hallway corridor below.

In the aftermath of Grenfell, safety regulations were changed to mandate that high-rises like these should not have critical gaps bigger than 4mm around fire doors or inside external wall construction, to prevent fire from spreading. Mr Coleman has warned the Town Hall about this since 2024. The LDRS raised this issue with Hackney Council but they did not provide a response.

The last comprehensive fire safety inspections at Fellows Court’s north tower were carried out in November 2024.

Frustrated by the pace of progress on repairs, occupants living at the block have formed the Fellow Residents Action Group, or FRAG – an alternative to the official Tenants and Residents Association – to hold their landlord to account. The group runs an X account which was used to flag problems with the fire alarm system in the days leading up to the fire.

Around the block, paint is flaking off ceilings and walls already stained by water damage from leaks. Exposed cables run across the corridor, while some fire sensors hang loose. Coleman highlighted the damage to CCTV systems, overflowing rubbish bins and anti-social behaviour. “Residents are really scared now, about leaks, security and fire,” he said.

Rahel Yerga, who has lived on the first floor for several years, told the LDRS her teenage son with special needs is struggling to sleep after the fire. “When he came back from school, he said he didn’t want to live here anymore. It’s just a nightmare,” she said.

Ms Tebe, meanwhile, said she felt lucky the blast occurred when it did. “What if it had been at 4am, when everyone was asleep?” she said.

A Hackney Council spokesperson said: “We take the safety of everyone living in our homes extremely seriously. As soon as we are made aware of issues with fire alarms in our blocks we respond to these as a matter of urgency and will always seek to resolve the issue on the same day.

“While the Fire Brigade are still investigating the cause of the fire, in line with good practice, we are carrying out a fire risk assessment review of the block so we can identify any further steps that we need to take to help further protect residents which will be implemented as quickly as possible.

“We are supporting the London Fire Brigade with its investigation as required. However, until the Fire Brigade finishes its investigation we would urge people not to share unconfirmed reports from social media and other sources.”