London tower blocks evacuated over fire concerns

Thousands of residents in a north London housing complex were evacuated from their apartments Friday night after fire checks revealed the buildings were unsafe, Reuters reported.

The checks were done in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire on June 14.

Residents, along with their children and pets were removed from five tower blocks and headed to a local sports center to sleep on air beds, Reuters reported.

“I know it’s difficult but Grenfell changes everything,” Georgia Gould, leader of Camden Council, said in the statement. “I don’t believe we can take any risks with our residents’ safety.”

The London Fire Brigade said it had found a number of fire safety issues at the Chalcots Estate in Camden and advised residents to leave the building until they were resolved, Reuters reported.

Cox Media Group