Eight fire engines and 58 firefighters and officers were called to a fire in a flat on Sydney Road in Enfield. Half of a ninth floor flat was damaged by the blaze.

Station Manager Mick Sayer, who was at the scene said:

“Firefighters did an excellent job to get this under control quickly. Three adults and two children got out of the ninth floor flat and around 20 people evacuated from the surrounding flats due to the smoke.

“All other residents stayed inside their flats which was much safer than attempting to escape which could have been risky due to the smoke and firefighting equipment. Living in a flat is not more dangerous than living in a house, but it’s important to know what your fire plan is and how you’d escape if a fire did break out.”

The Brigade recently launched a major campaign, called Know the Plan, aimed at improving the awareness of fire safety for the residents of high rise buildings and purpose built blocks and to encourage landlords and housing providers to act on their fire safety responsibilities. It said that living in a flat is not more dangerous than living in a house, but it’s important to know that your fire plan should be different. To find out more visit www.knowtheplan.co.uk.

The Brigade was called at 1558 and the fire was under control by 1714. Fire crews from Chingford, Enfield, Finchley, Edmonton, Southgate, Walthamstow and Tottenham fire stations attended the scene. The cause of the believed to be accidental.