In the early hours of Monday, September 22, 2025, residents of Maybury Close in Enfield, north London, awoke to a scene of chaos and fear as a fierce fire tore through a three-storey block of flats. The incident, which left three children hospitalized for smoke inhalation, has prompted questions about fire safety and emergency preparedness in residential buildings across the city.
The first signs of trouble came just after 5:15am, when local resident Vicky Gardner was out walking her dog. As she passed by the block of flats, she noticed something was terribly wrong. “I couldn’t hear anything, but I immediately saw flames shooting at the top of the roof,” Gardner told The Independent. Her quick thinking led her to call the fire brigade, setting off a chain of events that would mobilize a massive emergency response.
Gardner’s account paints a vivid picture of the confusion and urgency in those first few moments. “At the same time, one of my neighbours had come out of her property and they were going and knocking on doors and waking people up because no one had come out at this point,” she recalled. From what Gardner could tell, there were no fire alarms sounding in the building, a detail that’s sure to raise eyebrows among safety advocates and officials alike. As emergency services began to arrive, people started evacuating. “People started to come out and I could see there was a woman on the top floor with a child in her arms... by then there was a lot of smoke,” she said.
According to the London Fire Brigade (LFB), the first of 16 calls reporting the fire came in at 5:19am. Within minutes, 10 fire engines and about 70 firefighters from stations in Enfield, Edmonton, Chingford, Tottenham, Woodford, and Southgate were dispatched to the scene. The scale of the response underscored the seriousness of the incident, with the fire quickly spreading and engulfing the roof and second floor of the building.
Firefighters battled the blaze for nearly three hours, finally bringing it under control just after 8am. By then, the damage was extensive. The roof and second floor were destroyed, and the block was left charred and uninhabitable. Amid the chaos, three children were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. Fortunately, the Metropolitan Police later confirmed that their conditions were not life-threatening. The London Ambulance Service, which sent ambulance crews, a paramedic in a fast response car, an incident response officer, and the Hazardous Area Response Team, played a crucial role in ensuring the injured received prompt medical attention.
As the morning wore on, the impact of the fire rippled outward. Major traffic disruption was reported throughout the area, with the A10 into Hoe Lane closed to traffic. London commuters were advised to avoid the vicinity, adding another layer of disruption to an already tense situation.
For many residents, the most unsettling aspect of the ordeal was the apparent absence of fire alarms. Gardner’s observation that no alarms were heard before evacuation began raises serious concerns about the building’s safety systems. In a city still haunted by memories of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, any suggestion of inadequate fire safety measures is bound to spark intense scrutiny from both the public and authorities.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that they are working alongside the London Fire Brigade to investigate the cause of the blaze. As of now, no arrests have been made, and officials have appealed to anyone with information about the fire to come forward, either by calling 101 or contacting police online and quoting CAD866/22SEP. The investigation is ongoing, with authorities keen to understand exactly what went wrong and how similar incidents can be prevented in the future.
While the Enfield fire dominated headlines, it came on the heels of another major blaze in London just over a week earlier. On that occasion, 10 fire engines were dispatched to Westfield Stratford City shopping centre after a multi-storey car park caught fire. The London Fire Brigade received at least 35 calls about the incident, which began at 4:05pm and was brought under control by 5:54pm. That fire, which is being treated as accidental, is thought to have been caused by an undetermined fault within the engine compartment of a diesel-powered car. Although the circumstances differ, the two incidents have prompted renewed calls for vigilance and robust safety measures in both residential and commercial properties.
The swift and coordinated response from emergency services in both cases has been widely praised. The London Fire Brigade’s rapid deployment of resources and the professionalism of ambulance and police crews helped prevent an even greater tragedy. Yet, the events have also exposed vulnerabilities—especially in the context of fire alarm systems and evacuation protocols—that city officials will be under pressure to address.
For residents of Maybury Close, the ordeal is far from over. Many have been left without homes, and the psychological toll of such a traumatic event is only beginning to be understood. Local support services are expected to play a vital role in helping affected families recover and rebuild their lives in the weeks ahead.
As Londoners process the events of September 22, the fire serves as a stark reminder of the ever-present risks in urban living. It also underscores the importance of community vigilance, as exemplified by Gardner and her neighbours, whose quick actions may well have saved lives. Their willingness to knock on doors and rouse sleeping residents before the arrival of emergency services highlights the critical role that ordinary citizens can play in times of crisis.
With investigations ongoing and questions swirling about fire safety standards, the Enfield blaze is likely to remain in the public consciousness for some time. City officials, emergency responders, and residents alike will be watching closely for answers—and for assurances that steps are being taken to prevent such incidents from happening again.
In the meantime, the charred remains of the Maybury Close block stand as a somber testament to the dangers of fire and the resilience of a community that, when faced with disaster, came together to protect its own.
