100 firefighters are still battling the blaze in Tabernacle Street, 20 fire engines were called in to tackle the fire. The fire has spread across the first, third and fourth floor, and part of the roof is also on fire. It has been reported that the top floors have been completely hollowed out by fire.

Fortunately no casualties have been reported, despite thoughts that there may be people inside the building. Ambulances are however remaining on the scene just in case.

“There is a lot of smoke and it can be seen from quite a distance. There is a lot of fire inside the building,” says a spokesman for London Fire Brigade.

“We are in the process of trying to bring the fire under control.” He added that it was impossible to tell the level of damage to the building at this stage,” he added.

The fire brigade was called at 4.32am, initially two engines were sent but due to the severity of the spreading blaze a further 18 engines had to be called in. Fire crews are spread across onto City Road meaning there are currently traffic restrictions in place in the area.

The cause of the blaze remains unconfirmed, and is worse on the second and third floors. There are reports that it may have been caused by an electrical circuit problem. Smoke can be seen from miles away according to people in the area.

Tower blocks, tall office buildings, large developments under construction and high rise flats are all at risk of facing  similar fates to Lakanal House. Last July a blaze in the tower block claimed six lives, three of them children.

The London Assembly is at the head of the enquries and investigations, aimed to prevent similar events happening again. Fire safety is imperivate in all buildings but tall buildings produce more safety issues due to their size and design.
As space in London becomes scares, many commercial and residential property developmenters are building upwards rather than outwards. Nearly 5% of inner London residential occupants live on the fifth floor or above. Similar figures show a trend for taller office space buildings.

Currently guidence for tall office buildings are the same whether they are 30m or 300m high. Most of them not only house offices but leisure centres, cinemas and retail area.

New requirements and laws will soon be put in to place where fire safety in tall buildings and skyscrapers will be assessed individually, with future developments to be designed specifically with fire safety in mind. As well as the financial costs of fire damage, the lives of the people working in these buildings must always come first.