“I don’t want to live here” – Alarm bells ring for residents after Bromley block’s second big fire in two years
By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter
Residents living in a Bromley housing block that has caught fire twice in the past two years have ‘had enough’ and claim they don’t want to live in the complex any more.
A block in St Mark’s Square in Bromley town centre caught on fire last Thursday, with eight fire engines arriving shortly before 10am to deal with the outbreak.
Two people were hospitalised as a result of the blaze on the tenth floor that spread to the level above through a balcony on the block, called Varney Court.
The fire likely started due to an electrical event within an extension lead on a tenth floor balcony, a London Fire Brigade spokesman said.
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.
Josh Cope, 31, has lived in a flat two floors below the unit that caught ablaze yesterday in Varney Court with his partner and daughter for five years. He said 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 said: “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. I do not feel safe.”
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 – which is a further problem for many in terms of work and daily routine.
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.”
Paulin Ngon, 39, who has been living in Brouard Court for the past four years, said he didn’t find out about yesterday’s blaze until he came back from work and saw the crowd that had gathered in the square.
“It was a little bit of a shock because this is the second time,” he said. “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 said 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. The scheme includes 200 flats, 62 of which were purchased by Moat Homes for affordable housing and shared ownership schemes.
A spokesman for St Mark’s Square said: “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.
“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.”
Anne Brighton, director of neighbourhood services at Moat Homes, said: “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.”
London Fire Brigade said: “A post-fire safety audit has also been scheduled to take place next week at the building affected by the local area safety team.”
Pictured top: Josh Cope – one of the troubled residents in Brouard Court (Picture: Joe Coughlan)