
Residents of a block of flats opposite Grenfell Tower were left terrified after a fire broke out on the 12th floor today, sending smoke billowing up the side of the building.

Many living in Markland House had watched in terror as the Grenfell blaze claimed 72 lives two years ago. Today, they feared the same thing might happen to their own block when flames were seen leaping up from a balcony half way up the 20-storey west London building.

The fire, which was extinguished after an hour, has brought back horrific memories of Grenfell and left many angry at what they say is a lack of fire safety equipment in Markland.

Some of those who ran from the building this lunchtime said there were no alarms and no sprinklers, and they feared the blaze would spread as it did in Grenfell - which is just 250 yards away.

Billy Hunt, 57, who has lived in Markland for 27 years, said: 'After Grenfell they should have all these technologies by now... I don't feel safe in the block.'

Many however praised the quick response of fire crews and pointed out that Markland does not have the cladding which has been widely blamed for helping the fire spread up and around Grenfell Tower.

A fire broke out in Markland House, west London today. A video taken at the time shows how close it is to Grenfell Tower

Around 70 firefighters are at the scene of a fire at Markland House, a tower block opposite Grenfell Tower

Firefighters arrived on the scene and were soon seen dampening down the balcony where the fire was first spotted

Fire crews were seen hosing down the balcony where the blaze appears to have broken out

The fire broke out in Markland House (circled, left), which is 250 yards from Grenfell Tower (circled, right)

Halsho Draey, who has lived in the block for around 20 years, said he was angry at how the situation was handled.

The 34-year-old said: 'I saw the [pumped water from hoses] was only reaching the fifth or sixth floor. I said that wasn't going to diffuse the fire. I said (to the fire brigade) 'you need to go inside', not to waste time. I witnessed Grenfell. How do you expect me to be?'

His cousin Dawan, who was staying in the same seventh-floor flat, said he had heard no alarms as he exited the building, added: 'No sprinklers. No alarms, nothing. You would think after Grenfell they would have learned and listened. I just don't think they care about this part of the community.'

A fire safety report last year found that the building had no sprinkler system, other than a small system in one room, and no common fire alarm.

A spokesman for Kensington and Chelsea Council said the block's 'stay put' policy means residents outside the affected flat would not hear an alarm.

However, the lack of sprinklers was seen as a 'low' hazard and did not recommend the installation of either feature. The report did however say it was a high priority that better fire doors were fitted to flats. It is not known whether this has since been implemented.

Miguel Alves, who survived the Grenfell Tower blaze, was passing the area when he saw fire engines and police.

Sharing concerns about an apparent lack of changes since 2017, he said: 'By the look of it there's still no ladders to reach that high.

'And the water will not reach that high also. It's very concerning to me, especially what I've been through.'

Mr Alves was one of the first residents to discover the Grenfell Tower fire, and several residents on the 13th floor where he lived were woken by his knocking and decided to flee that building, contrary to fire brigade advice.

Describing today's fire, student Yassim Benagyida, 20, who lives opposite the flat where the fire started, said: 'The firemen were screaming 'just get out' and told me go down the stairs. It was terrifying.

'I watched the whole thing on the night of Grenfell. There was more action [by fire crews] here in the first hour than there was at Grenfell.'

Dhin Chittenden said she cried as she ran down the steps from her 11th floor flat in Markland House.

The 26-year-old receptionist, who has lived in the building with her husband for a month, said she was already fearful about another Grenfell Tower-type tragedy.

She said: 'I kept thinking about that. If it's happened somewhere else then it could happen again.'

A maintenance worker at the tower block knocked on the couple's flat and told them to leave. Standing in her slippers, Ms Chittenden said: 'I just grabbed my phone, my keys and ran downstairs.'

Flames could be seen on a balcony half-way up the building as smoke billowed upwards

Crews on the ground doused the side of the building, which does not appear to have cladding like Grenfell Tower did

The fire brought back terrible memories of Grenfell, which can be seen in the background of this photo from today

Ms Chittenden's husband Fernando Villanueva said: 'When I opened the door (to leave the flat) I saw the smoke coming out of the lift. My wife, she was thinking of Grenfell Tower. She knows what happened there and was very concerned.'

Grenfell survivor witnessed latest blaze Miguel Alves, who survived the Grenfell Tower blaze in 2017, was passing the area today when he saw fire engines and police. He said his first concern was whether anyone had been hurt and said memories of what happened on the night of the Grenfell fire 'come to my mind straight away'. He said: 'I feel shocked because it's only 200 metres or 300 or 400 metres anyway from Grenfell Tower. It's on the same area. It's difficult to believe something happened again on the same area.' Mr Alves was one of the first residents to discover the Grenfell Tower fire and several residents on the 13th floor where he lived were woken by his knocking and decided to flee the building, contrary to fire brigade advice. Advertisement

Samantha Findley, 41, said she smelled what she thought was burning plastic in the tower block and immediately left her 10th floor flat.

She said: 'I smelled it. So I thought 'let me get out, I'm out'. I grabbed my keys, my phone. I'm out. I'm not seeing where it is or anything. I'm out. I was very fearful.'

Standing looking at the block and pointing towards Grenfell Tower which is a short walk away, she said: 'That's Grenfell there as you can see. That was my first instinct when I smelled smoke. Everyone is thinking of Grenfell.'

Danielle Bond, who was watching on from a nearby office block, claimed the fire had spread between floors.

Speaking when the fire was still burning, she said: 'The fire is spreading upwards, don't know what it's like inside but flames are going up the building on one side.'

Responding to the fire at Markland House, Councillor Kim Taylor-Smith, deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, said: 'The London Fire Brigade were there quickly and look like they have everything under control.

'Obviously we will need to investigate the causes of the fire, but at the moment I am just thankful that everyone is safe.

'This community saw the Grenfell tragedy happen two years ago and I am fully aware of the impact that had on individuals.

'Our officers are on site, with NHS colleagues, and a respite centre has been opened for anyone who needs support. We have water and items for children on site as well. I would like to thank London Fire Brigade for their swift action in responding and containing the fire.'

The fire would have brought back horrific memories of Grenfell for those in the area

Police and firefighters on the scene following after the blaze was reported in the tower

The respite centre was opened in Frinstead House in Notting Hill.

Local councillor Mohammed Bakhtiar said he did not believe firefighters had 'the right equipment' to deal with high-rise blazes.

A spokesman for London Fire Brigade said: 'Firefighters fought the fire internally using hoses which were plugged into the building's dry rising main, as we would normally do with fires in high-rise buildings.

'Crews also used hoses from the ground to provide additional water to help prevent the fire from spreading from the balcony.

'Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters were called to reports of a fire on a balcony at a block of flats in Darfield Way in Notting Hill.

'A balcony on the 12th floor was alight. Crews are speaking to residents in the building to reassure them.'

The Brigade's 999 control officers took 27 calls to the incident.

The Brigade was called at 1139 and the fire was under control by 1255 but crews will remain on scene this afternoon.

Fire crews from North Kensington, Kensington, Fulham, Park Royal, Chelsea, West Hampstead, Soho, Hammersmith and Chiswick fire stations attended the scene.

Group Manager Simon Tuhill, who was at the scene, said: 'Crews worked hard and did a really good job to bring the fire under control quickly. Firefighters contained the fire to the flat of origin and thankfully there were no reports of any injuries.

'Our fire investigation team will carry out a thorough investigation over the coming days to establish the cause of the fire.'

Scotland Yard said there were no reports of any injuries, while London Fire Brigade and Kensington and Chelsea Council said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

Residents were gradually let back into the building on Friday afternoon and the council said one family had been rehoused in a nearby hotel.