Residents of fire-risk flats consider buying rope ladders and smoke hoods

Recent blaze at New Providence Wharf prompts people to think of ways to escape burning buildings

Residents of apartment blocks with fire safety problems are exploring buying abseiling equipment, rope ladders and personal smoke hoods to help them evacuate burning buildings, amid rising anger that thousands of homes remain unfixed.

It follows the latest blaze in an apartment block with fire safety defects earlier this month at New Providence Wharf, in east London, where residents were trapped on balconies because they could not escape through thick smoke.