Residents have spoken of the “terrifying” moment a fire broke out in a high rise block of flats in Woodford Green yesterday morning.

Smoke filled the hallways of the sixth and seventh floors of the tower, in The Bridle Path, when an electrical fire took hold.

A water pipe connected to a boiler on the seventh floor reportedly burst at about 2.45am and water seeped through and flooded the flats below.

An electrical cupboard on the sixth floor was apparently also soaked and may have caused the fire hours later.

Resident, Omar Garcia, 47, said: “It was truly terrifying and will cost me a fair bit of money in repairs but luckily no lives were taken.”

When the fire brigade arrived just before 5am, those living on the sixth and seventh floors were evacuated.

John Morrell, who lives on the sixth floor, said: “When we left there was smoke everywhere and out of nowhere we heard ‘bang bang’!

“It felt that we had come close to a major catastrophe.”

Six fire engines and 35 firefighters arrived and contained the flames and no one was injured.

Woodford station watch manager Darren Horrigan, who was at the scene, said: “Firefighters quickly contained the fire and stopped it from spreading to surrounding flats.

“Seven people from flats on the same floor were evacuated as a precaution.

“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.”

The brigade has launched a campaign called Know the Plan designed to improve awareness of fire safety for the residents of high rise buildings and to encourage landlords and housing providers to act on their fire safety responsibilities.

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Fire in Woodford Green flat block sparks early morning evacuation