Two fires in two years make residents feel 'unsafe'

Josh Cope lives in a flat two floors below the unit that caught fire and says he no longer feels safe in the building

Residents in a south-east London block of flats that has caught fire twice in two years have "had enough" and no longer want to live in the complex.

Two people were hospitalised after a fire at St Mark’s Square in Bromley town centre on 15 August.

The blaze, which the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said was likely started by an extension lead on a 10th floor balcony of Varney Court, spread to the floor above.

A spokesperson for St Mark’s Square said repairs were underway and they await the LFB's findings.

'Too scary'

Josh Cope, who lives in a flat two floors below the unit that caught fire, said he no longer feels safe in the building.

The 31-year-old, who has lived in the flat for five years with his partner and daughter, said he came home from work to find firefighters putting out the blaze.

“I don’t want to live here, I’ve had enough," he said.

"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.”

Another Varney Court resident says the fire made them "feel insecure" in their home

The fire likely started due to an electrical event within an extension lead on a 10th floor balcony, an LFB spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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

Mr Cope said housing association Moat Homes has been rehousing the tenants of Varney Court to units in Sidcup, Blackheath and Dartford.

"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," he said.

"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 was living in Brouard Court when there was a fire in 2022

Paulin Ngon, 39, has lived in Brouard Court for four years.

"It was a little bit of a shock because this is the second time, the roof has been burned already," he said.

"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.

Another resident living in Varney Court, who wished to remain anonymous, said the fire made them "feel insecure" in their home.

Part of a flat on the 10th floor and half of another flat on the 11th floor were damaged by fire, the LFB said

The St Mark’s Square development is a mix of private, affordable and shared ownership homes.

A spokesperson for St Mark’s Square said they recognised that the fire was "extremely frightening and concerning for residents" and safety was their "top priority".

"Work is underway to repair any damage caused so that people can return to their homes as soon as possible," they added.

"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 the company’s current focus was to make sure its customers were safe, supported and had alternative housing.

“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," she said.

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

An LFB spokesperson said they worked alongside Bromley Council to set up a rest centre for residents temporarily displaced from the incident and to pick up items including clothing and medication.

They added that a post-fire safety audit was due to take place.