Dagenham fire: Residents’ fury at ‘woeful’ response to blaze that nearly killed them

Residents who escaped a fire in a “deathtrap” block of flats have told Sky News they feel abandoned after both the management firm and owner of the building have failed to meet them.

The response has been branded “woeful” by the local council – who have had to pay £500,000 to support residents who have lost everything.

It’s been five weeks since people ran for their lives in the early hours after fire ripped through the privately owned Spectrum Building in east London during works to remove dangerous cladding.

Residents said fire alarms failed to sound and an escape route was padlocked, which meant some had to climb fences to flee.

“They don’t care… we are nothing to them,” said Kasia Stantke as we sat in her budget hotel room next to a busy dual carriageway where she’s been living for most of the past five weeks.

“We are worthless [to them], why would they not meet us?” she asked.

The 43-year-old management accountant describes the building that she, and 80 other residents, called home as a “death trap”.

She was horrified to learn various works to address fire safety problems had been ongoing for the past four years.

“The people responsible should be prosecuted, if guilty they should go to jail,” said Kasia.

Other residents have told Sky News they too feel abandoned.

Some are tenants who were renting their flats, others own the leases of their properties.

The freeholder – who owns the building – employed a firm called Block Management to manage the communal areas.

One woman described the response since the fire as “an insult” that has compounded the trauma of that night.

A children’s nursery on the ground floor has also had to move to a new temporary home.

Sky News tracked down the director of Block Management, who reluctantly agreed to speak to us near their headquarters in Suffolk.

David Collinson acknowledged the situation residents have been left in is “absolutely awful”.

However, he rejects the council’s claim that his company should have led on support for residents.

“I’m very sorry we don’t have that legal obligation,” he said.

“We are employed as a block manager to manage the common parts of the property, not the leasehold flats and not the tenants.

“We don’t have a contract with them. Obviously, we’re massively sympathetic. And if I could wave a magic wand to help them out, I promise you, you know, that’s exactly what we would do.”

“I would love to go meet with the residents, but I haven’t,” he added. “We physically haven’t got anything tangible to say to the residents.”

We asked if he was aware of the history of fire safety problems in the block.

He said: “There’s been various projects over probably the last 48 months of fire remediation works. And to the best of our knowledge, everything was done as it should be.”

“The freeholder has the ultimate responsibility. It’s his building,” Mr Collinson added.

‘Attitude needs to change’

Sky News has tried repeatedly to reach Brijesh Patel, the director of Arinium, the listed freeholder, but he has not responded to calls or messages.

The local authority has had to step in with emergency help and accommodation for residents and has so far spent over £500,000.

The leader of the council told Sky News the management company’s remote communications have been unacceptable given the circumstances.

“Contacting remotely from an office? It’s woeful, isn’t it?” Councillor Dominic Twomey told Sky News.

“If Block Management are symptomatic, and I’m hopeful they’re not, of management companies, then I think that attitude needs to change.”

“Just go and talk to people,” he pleaded.

After the fire, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner visited the Spectrum building and promised to make sure residents were supported.

She also vowed to accelerate the remediation works to remove dangerous cladding on residential blocks around the country.

Cllr Twomey added: “It has to be a national change… more teeth for local authorities like us.

“Because if we had more powers to speak to and tackle freeholders or block management companies, if we could actually make them come to the table and engage, that would just be a step in the right direction.”

The fire, which broke out on 26 August, is still under investigation by the Metropolitan Police, London Fire Brigade and the Health and Safety Executive.

More immediately for Kasia, the erection of scaffolding outside her budget hotel room has brought the memories of that night flooding back.

“I’m scared now again, I’m really hoping it will be a week or so and I will be able to move on,” she said.

“But for now, another scaffolding outside my window.”

“Am I again trapped? What’s going to happen now? I can’t believe it, it’s a living nightmare, absolutely,” she added.