Survivors of a fatal fire that tore through an east London flat are taking landmark legal action against the landlords who housed them there in cramped conditions and the battery’s manufacturer.
Mizanur Rahman, 41, died in the fire that broke out at the two-bedroom flat in Maddocks House, Shadwell, in the early hours of March 5 last year.
He was reportedly one of around 20 young Bangladeshi men living there at the time, who paid £100 in cash per week to sleep in “bug-infested” bunkbeds without hot water or access to a washing machine
The other residents managed to escape but lost their worldly possessions in the blaze and remain “devastated” by the experience.
Now, 12 of the survivors are suing the landlords of the property, Sofina Begum and Aminur Rahman, for damages in negligence and under the Occupier’s Liability Act 1957. The landlords were convicted of numerous housing offences following the fire.
The survivors are also bringing legal action against Leon Cycle Ltd, the company that produced the e-bike battery, for damages in negligence and under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.
Two of the survivors have told The Standard what it was like living in the flat, and of the “horror” they experienced on the night of the fire.
Survivor Nazmush Shahadat says the property had just one loo and one washroom. He said the tenants slept in bunkbeds, spread across the flat’s two bedrooms and living room.
The men reportedly had no shower, and instead had to fill a bucket before standing in the bathtub, using a cup to scoop up the cold water and wash themselves.
“It was dirty, plain and simple. It was dirty in every sense you could think of,” Nazmush, 25, told The Standard.
“Often people would sleep on the floor. When it was too crowded some people would even sleep in the kitchen.
“There were dead bugs, our clothes were dirty, the toilets...you just have to use them no matter how they were.
“Our landlord didn't let us turn on the heater. There was always no hot water.
“We couldn’t even wash our clothes.”
Nazmush ended up living in the house after accommodation he had arranged before flying to the UK from Bangladesh fell through at the last minute.
Sojibe Hossain, 26, moved there after hearing about the accommodation through fellow Bangladeshis he met when he had just arrived arrived in London, desperate for somewhere to stay. He said he was initially led to believe he would only be sharing with three or four people.
The night of the fire, Nazmush woke around 2am to a sound coming from beneath his bunkbed.
“I leaned to check what was happening and there were sparks coming from the electric,” he recalled.
An e-bike battery charging under the bed had caught fire. Its owner tried in vain to turn off the mains and to extinguish the fire but it quickly grew out of control.
“There was white smoke then it started gushing out black, and it started to spray fire,” said Nazmush. “It was like someone started fireworks.
“We went into the hallway…then the smoke engulfed the whole flat and started to come out from the main entrance. We got scared and ran outside to the road.”
The men fled into the cold without even shoes on their feet, and watched helplessly from the road as fire engulfed the flat and their possessions.
“Every one of us lost everything in that fire,” said Sojibe. “I lost my passport and laptop and phones, power bank, university document. I had just started working and I got salary for one week but I lost this money as well.”
One of the tenants, Mizanur Rahman, lost his life in the blaze.
Nazmush said the men are still “devastated” by the tragedy.
“We still feel the horrors of that night,” he told The Standard. “We don't want someone else to feel the same way.”
They say they are taking legal action to help get justice for Mizanur and for themselves, and also to hold landlords, and manufacturers of e-bikes and e-bike parts to account before more lives are lost.
“You can find [accommodation like this with] bunkbeds everywhere…and e-bike batteries, phone batteries,” said Nazmush. “More people are going to die, more people are going to suffer if things don't change.
“This is the only option we have we have to make [the landlords and e-bike company] accountable.”
The fire sparked an investigation by Tower Hamlets Council into landlords Sofina Begum, 50, and Aminur Rahman, 53, who owned the fourth-floor flat in Maddocks House.
The husband and wife pleaded guilty to nine offences under the Housing Act 2004 at Thames Magistrates Court on November 28.
Begum pleaded guilty to six charges, including allowing the premises to be overcrowded, failures to comply with licence conditions, carry out inspections and have a valid gas safety certificate, and failure to provide the Council with requested documentation.
Rahman pleaded guilty to three charges including, allowing the premises to be overcrowded, failure to comply with licence conditions and for failing to provide the council with requested documentation.
They are due to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court for sentencing on December 4.
E-bikes and e-scooters remain London’s fastest growing fire risk, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) has said, rising by 78 per cent last year. More than 10 people were killed in the UK last year alone, in such fires.
The survivors are represented by Daniel Lemberger Cooper, Partner, and Patrick Dunne, of IKP Solicitors.
Mr Lemberger Cooper, a partner at the firm, said: “We act for survivors and bereaved families across the UK who have been victims of e-bike battery fires.
“This is an urgent issue of national importance. Action must be taken now to hold companies who supply dangerous, defective lithium batteries to account.”
Leon Cycle Ltd has not responded to The Standard’s approach for comment.
