Camden Council has threatened “robust action” if a fire at the Chalcots estate last weekend turns out to be an arson attack.
Firefighters were scrambled to the estate – currently undergoing major work after a litany of fire safety hazards were uncovered in 2017 – shortly after 7.30am on Saturday (April 8).
The fire started in the basement bin store of the Dorney tower block, where a large amount of rubbish had been dumped the night before.
“Residents are very scared,” said Mandy Ryan, acting chair of Dorney’s tenant representative association (TRA). “It brings it all back to people.”
Days after the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, thousands of residents were evacuated from Chalcots after fire inspectors deemed the blocks too dangerous to live in.
Since then, cladding has been removed, exposed gas pipes have been repaired and hundreds of fire doors have been replaced.
Work is now underway to reclad the blocks and replace the windows.
“We are examining CCTV footage and if this is arson related, robust action will follow,” a Camden Council spokesperson said.
Firefighters from Kentish Town and West Hampstead were called at 7.38am with “a report of rubbish alight in the basement”.
They extinguished “a small fire” just after 8am.
According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB) press office, firefighters have not yet filed a report on the suspected cause.
Mrs Ryan said she found a large amount of dumped rubbish in the stairwell on Friday evening and reported it.
“It was as if someone had attempted to burn it already,” she said.
“It looked like some of the stuff had soot on it. There were bin bags with some things burnt in them. They looked black.”
On Saturday morning she walked her dogs, and was "astonished" at what she came back to.
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“The fire brigade were there," she said. "I thought, ‘Oh my God, if only they’d cleared it out the night before’.”
Camden Council said: “The bin store area is safe but temporarily closed off to residents. We will now make some repairs and redecorate before it is reopened.
“We are in contact with the LFB and once we receive their incident report we shall make an informed decision on what action should be taken.”
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