At least two people were pulled from a burning home in east London as flames ripped through the property following an apparent gas explosion.
The front of the terraced house in Ilford was ripped off in a suspected blast on Tuesday afternoon.
Neighbours told the Standard how debris shot into the road, smashing windows, denting cars and narrowly missing a five-year-old girl before a huge fire engulfed the home minutes later.
A video seen by the Standard showed metre-high flames tearing through the roof while two firefighters helped a woman out of a kitchen on the first floor of the building.
The blast tore out the upper floors’ exterior wall, with the kitchen of the flat visible from the street and pots and pans still hanging up above rubble on Wednesday morning.
Debris had smashed through the back window of a car parked in the drive of the property and was still strewn across the street. According to witnesses, it had flown into the paths of passersby.
Averil Young, 87, who lives across from the destroyed home on Ley Street, said the explosion reminded her of when she was a young girl living through the Second World War.
She said: “I have never been so frightened in my life. There was a big red flash. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing it shook next door.
“Then I went into shock. It reminded me of the Second World War. I thought it was a bomb. Then the flames started to go up. There was still smoke at 4am this morning.”
Mohammed Rashid, 37, was forced to dodge falling debris from the blast while walking his five-year-old daughter home as the explosion erupted.
He had only moved into his house across the street two weeks earlier.
He said “It was like a bomb blast, I felt like I was in a film. Debris fell in between my feet and my daughter started crying.”
Mr Rashid recalled how when he rushed home his family explained the whole house had been shaken by the blast. He was left to comfort his daughter who was badly upset by the experience.
Another eyewitness who lives opposite the explosion told the Standard: “It sounded like two cars crashing into each other but on a larger scale.
“There was a car that was driving past and its windows exploded. I looked up and saw half the house had been taken off.
“The fire didn’t happen straight away. Maybe a couple of minutes later it started taking off.
“Our house actually shook as well. It felt like something really big had happened – almost like an earthquake.”
The witness described that they saw two people being taken out while the roof of the building was on fire.
Another neighbour, who lives several doors up from the explosion, described hearing a “really loud bang” before finding that a house had been “completely blown out”.
He said: “It was just carnage. There was a car and a bus parked outside. It was just unbelievable.
“When we looked around the back the whole house was on fire. I saw the fire brigade take three people out of the first floor. They had a ladder up and were helping them out.”
Around 60 firefighters and eight fire engines were called to the blaze on Ley Street in Ilford just after 4pm on Tuesday, which caused the house’s first floor and loft conversion to go up in flames.
Social media footage from the scene appeared to show an explosion at the house as shocked residents scrambled to call the emergency services.
Firefighters said two people were rushed to hospital, but did not reveal the extent of their injuries.
House explodes on Ley Street in Ilford 😳 #IG1IG3 pic.twitter.com/e9acAhWrin
— INSTA: IG1IG3 (@Ig1Ig3) December 10, 2024
LFB Station Commander Darren McTernan said: "Firefighters worked hard to bring this fire under control. Crews will remain on scene throughout the evening.
"Ley Street remains closed between Eastern Avenue and Vicarage Road, impacting traffic in the surrounding area, so please continue to avoid the area if you can.
"One of the Brigade's 32-metre turntable ladders was used at the scene as a water tower to help fight the fire from above.
“The Brigade's drone team were also deployed to the incident, offering the Incident Commander an aerial view of the scene."
The brigade said it took the first of 25 calls regarding the fire at 4.09pm and mobilised crews from Ilford, Dagenham, Barking and surrounding fire stations to the scene.
The fire was under control by 6.23pm.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “Police were called at 4.08pm on 10 December to reports of a fire at a residential property in Ley Street, Ilford.
“We have attended alongside the London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service.
“We remain at the scene and cordons are in place.”
Jas Athwal, MP for Ilford South, wrote on X: “Please be aware there is an ongoing fire in a residential property on Ley Street in Ilford.
“London Fire Brigade & Redbridge Borough Police are on the scene. People are advised to stay away from the area while the emergency services attend.”
Councillor Khayer Chowdhury, cabinet member for enforcement and community safety on Redbridge Council, added: “We're on standby to provide support to with the clear up operation.
“We're also on standby to support residents who have been directly affected by this incident and will be liaising with our Fire Brigade & Redbridge Borough Police partners.”
The cause of the fire is not yet known and is under investigation.
