St Marks Square Bromley fire: Two officers taken to hospital

Around 80 firefighters and 12 fire engines tackled the blaze in St Marks Square just after 9.50am on August 15.

Two people were treated at the scene by London Ambulance Service crews and taken to hospital.

One person, who wishes to be kept anonymous, told the News Shopper that two police officers from Bromley station had entered the building and evacuated residents before the brigade arrived.

A spokesperson for Metropolitan Police confirmed today (August 19) that the pair taken to hospital were police officers.

They were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and released from hospital later the same day.

The fire is believed to have been accidental, caused by an electrical event occurring in an extension lead that was being used on a balcony.

Part of a three roomed flat on the tenth floor and half of a three roomed flat on the eleventh floor were damaged by the blaze.

It was reported that the complex was still undergoing repairs from a fire on the 15th floor of another block, Brouard Court, that damaged the slanted roof of the building on July 4, 2022.

Around 120 people were rescued where a part of the roof was damaged and half of a five-room flat on the 15th floor was destroyed from the fire.

Josh Cope, 31, has lived in a flat two floors below the unit that caught ablaze in Varney Court with his partner and daughter for five years.

His partner rang him in a panic when the fire started and he came home from work to find firefighters putting out the blaze.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “I don’t want to live here, I’ve had enough. I’ve completely had enough, it’s just getting too scary.

"Part of me wonders if the building is safe. My whole family is asthmatic… I do not feel safe here.”

The resident claims that the incident has led to housing association Moat Homes rehousing the tenants of Varney Court to units in Sidcup, Blackheath or further away in Dartford.

However, the tenant said his profession requires him to be near Bromley as he would be unable to afford commuting from further away.

Mr Cope said: “Everyone’s in the same position.

“Luckily, we’ve got family locally who are on holiday so they said that we can have their house for two weeks, but after that I don’t know where I could end up.”

He added: “They offered me Dartford yesterday or Thornton Heath and I said I can’t because all my work is this way.

"I can’t go that far because at the end of the day it’s going to cost me £130 in travel a week to get to work.”

Paulin Ngon, who has been living in Brouard Court for the past four years said he didn’t find out about the fire until he came back from work.

He told the LDRS: “It was a little bit of a shock because this is the second time, the roof has been burned already.

“It looks like they haven’t learned their lesson. What they should have done is inspected all of the flats to make sure no one is doing something dodgy because we have already had a fire here.”

Mr Ngon said he feared the whole St Mark’s Square complex could have burned down during the fire in 2022.

He now feels unsafe in his building and is worried about being able to insure his flat in future due to the repeated incidents.

The St Mark’s Square development was developed by LandsecU+I and built by contractors McLaren.

A spokesperson for St Mark’s Square told the LDRS: “We know yesterday’s fire would have been extremely frightening and concerning for residents.

"Our thoughts are with all of those who have been affected. Fortunately, no residents were injured and all life safety systems operated as they should which enabled the London Fire Brigade to extinguish the fire swiftly.”

They added: “Ensuring residents are supported and the buildings are safe continues to be our top priority.

“Work is underway to repair any damage caused so that people can return to their homes as soon as possible.

"We are also supporting the London Fire Brigade with their investigations and await their findings.

“We would like to thank all of the emergency services who attended the incident for their swift actions.”

Anne Brighton, Director of Neighbourhood Services at Moat Homes, told the LDRS that the housing association was aware of how upsetting the incident had been for its customers, their neighbours and the wider community.

She said the company’s current focus was to make sure its customers were safe, supported with anything they needed and had alternative housing.

She added: “We’ve worked closely with the Bromley Emergency Planning team, and we will continue to work with the managing agent of the building to provide further support and reassurance and with the London Fire Brigade to understand the cause of the fire, which is currently unknown.

"We’ll remain in close contact with our customers to make sure they’re updated and aware of the next steps everyone is taking.”

Crews from Bromley, Beckenham, Woodside and surrounding fire stations attended the scene.

The fire was under control by 11.55am.

A spokesperson London Fire Brigade said it worked closely with emergency services during the fire to ensure the safety of residents.

It added that it also worked with Bromley Council to set up a rest centre for temporarily displaced residents where they could pick up items including clothing and medication.

The spokesperson explained: “I’d like to reassure residents that the brigade will be in the community offering support and advice where needed, including promoting our Home Fire Safety Checker.

“A post-fire safety audit has also been scheduled to take place next week at the building affected by the local area safety team.”