Fears for evidence as roof ‘completely destroyed’ by huge fire

An investigation is underway after the roof of Forest Gate Police Station was “completely destroyed” by a huge fire. Around 175 firefighters from 30 fire engines spent seven hours battling the blaze at the east London building in Romford Road, Forest Gate.

About 60 people were evacuated from the station before firefighters arrived and no one is believed to have been injured.

The Metropolitan Police are expected to provide an update on the damage that may have been caused to ongoing criminal cases amid fears for evidence stored there. Some essential police properties have been moved to a safe place.

Inspector Dan Card, speaking outside the smoking red brick police station, said: “The fire has now been contained and the cause of the fire is not being treated as suspicious at this stage.

“I would like to reassure the people of Newham that our policing response in the area has not been affected and that we are able to continue to do our job to keep the people of Newham and London safe.”

London Fire Brigade (LFB) is now investigating the fire and says its investigation may be lengthy “due to the scale and nature of the incident”.

The roof of the police station, which is where the fire was located, “was completely destroyed,” the LFB said.

The brigade was called to the scene shortly after 4.15pm and brought the fire under control by around 11.10pm.

Dramatic pictures showed an inferno engulfing the roof of the red brick building as huge plumes of black smoke billowed into the air.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were seen entering the building and were photographed tackling the huge flames above the roof using ladders.

Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne, the Brigade’s incident commander, said: “This was a challenging incident for firefighters as the fire was located on the roof of the police station.

“Crews made extensive use of our 32 and 64 meter ladders to attack the fire from above and our drone team was deployed to give us a view of the scene as we responded.”

“Throughout the incident, a concern for our crews was the potential for the fire to spread to adjacent properties.

“Thanks to their efforts we were able to prevent this and the fire was confined to the police station.

“Firefighters also carried out operations to ensure essential police property in the building remained fire-protected and moved to a safe location.

“Our specialist fire investigators will now begin their investigation into the cause of the fire. Due to the scale and nature of the incident, this may be a protracted investigation.”

Locals were told to keep their windows and doors closed as the fire raged, while several nearby roads were also closed.

Fire service experts are expected to trawl through the building once it is made safe looking for clues as to the cause of the fire.

Initial reports on Wednesday night suggested the fire was not being treated as arson at that stage.

Locals gathered around cordons as smoke continued to pour from the building.

A witness at the scene told the Standard: “The whole building looks ruined. It’s a big deal, the police will have lost files and who knows if there is evidence for cases that perished in the fire. Also, the police don’t have a base now, so I think they’ll have to be sent elsewhere.”

Meanwhile, a local wrote on X as the fire broke out on Wednesday: “From this angle, it looks like the roof of Forest Gate Police Station will collapse soon.

“While Police helicopters monitor the situation from above, brave firefighters are battling the ongoing blaze at Forest Gate Police Station.

“Firefighters set up huge floodlights to help fight the fire.”

Commander Kyle Gordon, from Newham Police, said policing was “continuing as normal in Forest Gate”.

“I am fully aware of the impact this will have on our officers and staff who routinely work in Forest Gate,” he said in a statement published on X.

“We have spoken to them and made sure they have the support they need, both now and in the days ahead.

“Despite the impact of this fire, our ability to provide a police service remains unaffected. Our local teams will continue to serve their communities in and around Newham as usual and keep them safe.”

He also thanked the LFB and police officers who responded to Wednesday’s incident.