British Broadcasting Corporation
The building damaged by the fire At least 30 people were rescued from their homes
Residents are questioning whether escape routes and fire prevention measures were "adequate" at a block of flats where a fire claimed six lives.
Three young children and three adults where killed in the fire at the 12-storey Lakanal Flats, in Camberwell, south-east London, on Friday evening.
Several residents said the complicated layout of the flats in Havil Street made evacuation difficult.
Ed Hammond, a seventh-floor resident, described the flats as "death traps".
He said: "If the fire is in the central area, you would virtually have nowhere to go.
'Thorough investigation'
Fire chief Nick Collins
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
Nick Collins, Fire Brigade: "We're reasonably confident it started on the ninth floor"
"I hate it," he said. "It's the safety, it's just not right."
Zahera Chaudry, 21, whose sister was forced to flee her first-floor flat with her three children when smoke came into her living room, said: "These buildings should have been torn down years ago. Now look what's happened."
She said there was no central fire alarm system in operation but some of the individual flats were fitted with alarms.
Carol Cooper, 38, who lives on the seventh floor, said the tenants had called for the block to be demolished three years ago.
But she said they had been told the block was a listed building, one of the earliest council houses in south-east London, and could not be knocked down. There was no immediate independent confirmation of this information.
Harriet Harman, the area's MP, said there would have to be a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire and whether the prevention was adequate.
"There are many blocks with one central stairwell and questions will have to be asked about what happens when a fire breaks out," she said.
Print Sponsor
BBC LONDON
BBC London
Sport, travel, weather, things to do, features and much more
Expert at the scene
Experts investigate fire aftermathCh Supt Wayne Chance
Police on why the fire is 'suspicious'Borois Johnson
Mayor wants flats design probedCamberwell fire
Eyewitness footage of Camberwell fireEyewitness
Eyewitness saw man 'wanting to throw the baby over'Camberwell fire damage
Tower block fire damage revealedvideo Design fixed for 1,000mph car
video One-minute World News
video Film set bulls go on rampage
video Speedboat's 'splash' landing
video Bloodhound's race with Eurofighter
video Cigars in space for astronaut father
video Many die as Indonesia ferry sinks
video Acid attack girl's 'hero' surgeon
video Rudd tells of hope for Copenhagen
video Five die in Italian plane crash
Copepod (Bunzow/Corgosinho)
In picturesUS President Barack Obama
Mardell's AmericaGirl biting another girl
Wild daughtersMost Popular Now | 30,886 people are reading stories on the site right now.
Quantcast
BBC © MMIX
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.