‘Shellshocked’ and ‘exhausted’: The Mount residents raise concerns over safety and council support after Clapton blaze 

Demanding action: Amanda Woodhead, one of the residents affected by the fire

Residents of The Mount, a council-owned maisonette block in Clapton, say the Town Hall has failed to provide adequate support in the wake of a fire on 5 May that destroyed one flat and damaged five others.

Ten fire engines raced to the four-storey block of maisonettes near Mount Pleasant Lane.

Some 70 firefighters tackled the blaze and brought the fire under control shortly before 11pm.

One person was treated at the scene, with no further reported injuries.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Residents who returned to their homes in the early hours of 6 May say that since then, they have received by way of help only a single letter from the council.

The communication confirmed the incident and asked tenants to refrain from sharing unverified information on social media.

A subsequent collective letter from residents requesting urgent assistance and temporary accommodation prompted a council reply pledging action “shortly” — a commitment that, as of publication, has yet to translate into substantive support.

The occupant of the destroyed flat is understood to have been placed in temporary accommodation through the council’s social services.

‘Every minute felt like an absolute age’

Annie [surname withheld from publication at her request], a top-floor tenant, said she and her housemates were alerted to the fire by a neighbour.

“We immediately evacuated,” she said. “We didn’t take anything with us, though in hindsight it probably would’ve been a good idea to. At this point, it was a bit of a blur – it all happened so fast, but also every minute felt like an absolute age until the firemen arrived.” “It all happened so fast, but also every minute felt like an absolute age until the firemen arrived,” she said. She and her housemates joined a growing crowd outside as the brigade sprayed water into the building, the smoke shifting colour as it billowed across the block.

“It was really, really amazing. Everyone was there. It was crazy how many people were just watching this blaze,” she said.

“We were outside watching it all unfold, probably until about midnight, and in that time, some really lovely neighbours were making us cups of tea, and we could charge our phones at their house. These were people we had never met before.”

On returning to the flat after midnight, she added, “we didn’t sleep at all . . . we were shellshocked.”

‘The flames were spilling across the shutters like water’

Amanda Woodhead lives in the block with her daughter who is currently sitting GCSE examinations.

It was her daughter who noticed the fire: “At first, I just thought she was just seeing a worm or something. Then I saw behind our shutters, it was really glowing – you could see it glowing orange,” said Amanda.

When she opened the back shutters, “I could see the flames spilling across the shutters like water.”

She gathered laptops, passports and school materials before evacuating, but said the heat prevented her from reaching more of her daughter’s belongings.

“I grabbed her school bag but I couldn’t go as far as the desk to grab her book. The heat was so hot that I couldn’t go to the desk, and then I suddenly had an instinct to not go near the window because it could explode.”

Outside on the pavement, mother and daughter looked back at a column of black smoke rising several metres above the rooftop.

Onlookers gaze as smoke billows from The Mount, 5 May 2026. Photograph: Amanda Woodhead

“I’ve done quite a lot of things in my life. I’ve been in car crashes, I’ve been trekking in the Himalayas, nearly falling down head over heels, I’ve been in a boat we thought was going to sink – but this was the most frightening,” Amanda said.

One of the family’s two cats remains missing: Cookie has since been recovered, but Elvis is still unaccounted for.

Health and contamination concerns

Tenants have raised concerns about potential exposure to asbestos, toxins released from burnt plastics and metals, decomposing vermin and untreated human waste in and around the damaged property. The air in the vicinity continues to carry a strong odour of smoke nearly two weeks after the incident. Two residents are reported to have suffered severe asthma attacks since 5 May.

Several households have relocated to stay with friends or family. Others, lacking alternatives, remain in situ.

Residents say the only contact they have had from the Town Hall has been a single letter confirming the fire and asking them not to share unverified information on social media.

The occupant of the destroyed flat is understood to have been placed in temporary accommodation through the council’s social support services.

A collective letter to the council asking for urgent help and temporary housing for other affected households drew a reply promising action “shortly”. At the time of writing, no such action has materialised.

Pre-existing risk assessment flagged shortcomings

The fire has drawn attention to documented compliance issues at the block. A fire risk assessment conducted on 4 May — the day before the blaze — classified The Mount as medium risk.

It identified combustible materials stored in gardens, inadequate flat entrance fire doors, overdue emergency lighting maintenance, and a failure to provide residents with the fire safety and evacuation information required under current regulations.

A previous assessment carried out in April 2024 had reached substantially the same conclusions, raising questions about the pace at which identified deficiencies were being addressed.

The flat where the fire originated was occupied by a resident described by neighbours as a hoarder.

Aftermath: The back garden to the flats, following the blaze on 5 May 2026. Photograph: Niall Holden

Its lower floor remains filled with scorched possessions, some of which have spilled into the surrounding garden.

Two security personnel have been deployed on a 24-hour basis to deter the removal of scrap metal from a cordoned-off section of debris. The council informed residents that clearance work was scheduled to begin today, Thursday 14 May.

Council: ‘We take our responsibility as landlord extremely seriously’

A Hackney Council spokesperson said: “We fully recognise that the fire at the Mount earlier this month will have caused concern to residents.

“We take our responsibility as landlord extremely seriously and want to reassure all residents in the block that we are committed to providing them the support they need.

“Following the fire we wrote to all residents to provide assurance, outlining how we were supporting affected residents and providing a contact number for our fire safety team for any other concerns residents may have.

“All statutory fire safety checks were in date and compliant prior to the fire occurring. The cause of the fire is still being investigated. This is a complex case, but there is no risk to surrounding residents.

“We are taking all relevant steps to ensure the flat and any potential toxic substances disturbed by the fire are cleared as safely and quickly as possible and are using licensed contractors.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.