Thread by @rachaelvenables

Fire in a high rise on Whitechapel High Street. London Fire say ten engines & 70 firefighters are at the scene. They’re asking people to avoid the area if possible

https://twitter.com/JamieLFC_1892/status/1500865890212093959

Now 100 firefighters are tackling this blaze in Aldgate. You can see external parts of the building flying off as the flames spread. Praying everyone is ok

Now, Sadiq Khan says 20 fire engines and more than 125 firefighters are working to tackle the fire at the block of flats and offices. It's the Relay Building, also home to Houblon Apartments

Looks like the Relay Building was also caught up in the post-Grenfell building safety crisis.

As you can see it’s made of glass - so no cladding. But it has timber on balconies which now have to be replaced, trapping residents while they decide who pays

A leaseholder tells me they have known about this building safety issue for years - they haven't been able to sell - but nothing has been done about it because no one knows who is going to pay to fix the balconies

This is the wider picture of the Building Safety Crisis. It's #notjustcladding

My colleague @charlotterlynch is on the scene. She says a police officer told her all residents are believed to have gotten out safely, which is brilliant news

Few more thoughts from me.

Brilliant, brave work by @LondonFire again who stopped the fire spreading.

Residents will have been living in absolute terror that something like this would happen for years. One told me the mental health toll has been huge

Despite the ongoing building safety concern - none of the residents @charlotterlynch has spoken to seemed to know to do in the event of a fire.

... Is that surprising, given this detail from the block's most recent Fire Risk Assessment? #stayput