Fire hits flat in Thamesmead – 12 rescued
The Fire Brigade rescued three adults and nine children in a flat fire this morning in Thamesmead.
Six fire engines and 35 firefighters were called to the twelfth floor at Kale Road.
The fire hit the top floor of Dexter House and a cooker is suspected as the cause.
The brigade calls it Erith in a tweet though this block is in Thamesmead and this architecture synonymous with the town.
Three adults and nine children escape unhurt from a flat blaze in #Erith https://t.co/COxF9sLpEi pic.twitter.com/4c33SxpHFT
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) December 23, 2018
The Brigade was called at 0619 and the fire was under control by 0710. Fire crews from Plumstead, Erith, Bexley and East Greenwich attended.
EDIT: This is far from the most important element of this story (people have lost there home) but I’ve noticed in the past few minutes that some media outlets are calling this Abbey Wood or Bexley. It isn’t. It’s in Bexley borough but even then it’s a stretch to call it in Bexley and not very specific.
What this boils down to is larger media players cutting staff and moving those that remain many, many miles away from areas they are supposed to serve. Even calling it Erith is odd given its part of the Thamesmead estate that was built as part of a “new town” from the 1960s. These concrete blocks are Thamesmead for better or worse. It’ll be called Erith by the Fire Brigade due to the postcode but that’s a Royal Mail administrative nicety. Many towns cross postcodes. It doesn’t mean it isn’t Thamesmead.
Sorry, gone on a bit though many trying to rebrand Thamesmead or not knowing what and where it is can is constantly heard and a bit irritating.
If you want to read up on what Thamesmead is and a great history of the town try Valerie Wigfall’s book on the town.
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I live in the flat below where the fire was and was evacuated very quickly. I would just like to mention what a fantastic job the fire service did and cannot praise them enough. They visited every resident and checked our smoke alarms and gave some good info and advice. I can happily report that everyone is ok and no damage was done, other then the source of the fire.
I know this isn’t an important thing, but my address in Holstein Way for post is Erith, Kent with a Dartford postcode and Bexley council. It is clearly part of Thamesmead, but that’s not it’s postal address.
Mercifully, the block was covered in flamable cladding.
Wasn’t.