Seven in hospital after families flee inferno at second tower block

Flames: the flat in Mermaid Tower
12 April 2012

Two children and five adults were being treated in hospital after a fire tore through the top floors of a tower block in Deptford.

More than 50 firefighters fought for two hours to bring the blaze under control. It started at 4.15pm yesterday in an 11th-floor flat in Mermaid Tower in Abinger Grove. Flames spread to the floor above, trapping families as corridors filled with smoke. It is thought the fire was started by an incense candle.

The fire comes nine months after an arson blaze at the neighbouring Marine Tower in which two women died. Witnesses told how the tenant of the Mermaid Tower flat had gone to the shops, leaving her two children inside. Asiyah Harris, 22, said: "She came back and everything was on fire. She was screaming for her kids."

Natasha Ricketts, 37, who runs the Bunny Hops nursery on the estate, said: "The little girl was at the window screaming for help. We could see her silhouette with the flames shooting up behind her. We saw the firemen's torches as they got into the room. Thank God she was safe."

The 12-year-old girl was carried unconscious from the building by firefighters in breathing apparatus. Her seven-year-old brother was led down the stairs to safety.

The children and five other adults were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

Fifty people who live in the 17-storey tower were evacuated to a nearby community centre.

A spokeswoman for Lewisham council said: "Residents were able to return to their homes late last night and we made alternative accommodation arrangements for four households overnight. The Fire Brigade is investigating the cause of the fire."

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