Today’s fire at Millennium Mills is believed to have been caused sparks falling through floors.
Contractors working on the £12m project to transform the former Royal Docks flour mill were burning steel on the ninth floor, causing sparks to fall through holes in the floors and set alight to waste below.
Half of the fourth and fifth flours were engulfed in flames although the fire is now said to be under control.
An operational support crew, two fire command units, the Salvation Army and the police all remain on site. It is expected that they will remain on the scene for a few more hours to ensure that the flames have been fully damped down.
About 58 firefighters and eight fire engines from Dagenham, East Ham, Plaistow, Stratford, Poplar, Shadwell, Bromley and East Greenwich rushed to the scene at about 12.30pm.
There have been no reports of any injuries.
Fifty demolition and abestos removal contractors working on the site left before the fire brigade arrived.
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