On the afternoon of 4 September 2024, emergency services were called to a major fire that broke out at a high-rise residential building in Catford, Lewisham
LFB control officers received around 50 calls regarding the incident, which saw two flats on the ninth and tenth floors of the 11-storey building alight. In total, ten fire appliances and 70 firefighters tackled the blaze, with crews from Forest Hill, Greenwich, Deptford, Lee Green, and surrounding fire stations attending the scene.
Images of the blaze's aftermath show blackened and burnt-out windows on one corner of the tower block. Onlookers told BBC News that the flames were “massive”, with smoke plumes visible for miles around.
In a social media update, LFB requested the public to avoid the area while firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze. Crews used a 32-metre turntable ladder as a water tower to fight the fire from a height and were able to bring the blaze under control within a few hours.
LFB later confirmed that the fire had destroyed a flat on the ninth floor and part of a flat on the tenth floor. There were no reports of any injuries, the Brigade added.
The fire incident, which broke out just after midday, occurred shortly after the publication of the final Inquiry report of the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017.
It is understood that an investigation into the cause of the Catford tower block fire is now underway.
(Photograph by London Fire Brigade)