Residents were forced to flee a fire that gripped their block of flats near the burned-out shell of Grenfell Tower on Tuesday morning.
An apartment on the 12th floor of the high-rise tower on Queensdale Crescent in Shepherd’s Bush caught fire around 9:20 am.
Paramedics said they were treating “several patients” at the scene.
Three people who were in the apartment that caught fire left before the first fire engine arrived while other residents were evacuated, the London Fire Brigade said.
Firefighters carried six tower residents to safety via an internal stairway. Others were advised to stay home.
The brigade said the fire was under control about 90 minutes after the first call.
60 firefighters have been battling a fire at a 12th floor apartment in W11 near Grenfell Tower.
/ bbc londonResident Kia Zeka said LBC News that the newly installed sprinklers in the building had not turned on.
She said: “I live on the seventh floor. I saw the firefighters behind the building from the window and I ran out.
“No one knocked on the door, no one told us what was going on… when I came out there were people outside, the police and now they’ve stopped the fire, but we still can’t get back into the building.”
“It’s pretty scary. We have Grenfell right in front of us and it looks like we are going through the same thing,” he added.
Locals reported feeling sick seeing the fire’s proximity to Grenfell Tower, where 72 people lost their lives in 2017.
BBC footage appears to show the remains of the burnt flat after the fire was extinguished. The fire appears to have been contained to a single story with only exterior damage to the houses above.
The London Fire Brigade said they responded to more than 30 emergency calls to the fire.
Station Commander David Bracewell, who is at the scene, said: “Three people from the affected floor left before the Brigade arrived. Several other residents evacuated the building.
“Firefighters carried six residents to safety via an internal stairway. Other residents who were not affected by the fire, heat or smoke were advised to stay in their apartments.
“In the early stages, we used a new technology called 9Eye that allowed the caller to send live video of the incident directly to the Brigade’s 999 call center.
“We also use a 32m turntable ladder to put water on the outside of the building.”
Kensington Conservative MP Felicity Buchan tweeted: “Very worrying to hear about the high-rise fire on Queensdale Crescent in Shepherds Bush.”
Confusing the measurements of the stairs that were used to fight the fire, he added: “They told me @LondonFire that there are 8 fire engines, 60 firefighters and a 32mm aerial device. It has been called a 64mm.”
Local NHS communications director Mike Waddington urged residents whose memories of the Grenfell fire have been triggered by the latest fire to contact local mental health services.
He tweeted: “If you find this incident in Shepherds Bush disturbing so close to the Grenfell anniversary contact the Grenfell Health and Welfare Service.”
The London Fire Brigade said it had the fire under control at 10:55 a.m.
Reference-www.standard.co.uk