Firefighters were called at 6.36am yesterday morning, arriving to find a number of people had already escaped the building in Church Street, Stratford.
The fire broke out on the balcony of a seventh-floor flat. The heat from the flames was enough to melt the double-glazed windows of the four-room flat above, causing smoke to pour into it.
One woman, said to be in her mid-40s, sustained minor injuries in her efforts to get out, suffering bruised ribs after tripping over. She was taken to hospital.
Acting station manager Daniel Egan said the building’s working smoke alarms provided a “vital early warning” allowing residents to get out.
In total thirty-five firefighters from Plaistow, Leytonstone, Homerton and Stoke Newington fire stations attended the incident, spending two hours there in total.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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