Overview
- Emergency services received the first call just before 3pm on March 18 to a first-floor flat on Cooper’s Road in a six-storey building.
- Four fire engines and about 25 firefighters from Dockhead, Dowgate, Shadwell and Whitechapel brought the fire under control at 4:34pm, including deployment of a 64m turntable ladder from Old Kent Road that arrived within six minutes.
- One 16-year-old left the property before crews arrived and was taken to hospital with serious facial injuries, with no public update on his condition.
- A second 16-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene and his next of kin are being supported by specially trained officers.
- The London Fire Brigade’s Fire Investigation Unit and the Metropolitan Police are examining the cause, which officials currently describe as non-suspicious.