20-Story London Apartment Block Ablaze Year After Grenfell Fire - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A fire broke out in a 20-story apartment building in London's Lewisham on Thursday, precisely the day when the United Kingdom is commemorating the victims of last year's deadly blaze in Grenfell Tower, media reported.

About 150 people left the apartment block on Elmira Street before the firefighters arrived, The Telegraph reported.

According to the London Fire Brigade, the fire broke out early in the morning on the balcony of a flat on the 13th floor and was contained within about two hours.

Tower on fire at Lewisham 😩 #fire #lewisham #romacorte #london pic.twitter.com/blytNWiV87

— Gasp (@Lunacyfer) 14 июня 2018 г.

Surely there should have been a fire alarm @EveningStandard #lewisham #fire pic.twitter.com/3184PXiJm1

— B.Gizdavkov (@BGizdavkov) 14 июня 2018 г.

​​The incident happened exactly one year after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, when a fire in a 24-story residential high-rise in western London claimed the lives of over 70 people, who were trapped in their flats, as the flammable materials used for the cladding and insulation quickened the spread of the fire.