Firefighters and residents who fled the fire at the Holloway tower block. Photo: Shulem Stern

PANIC spread among residents of a tower block in Holloway when fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday.

Two people reportedly suffered fractures after abandoning the “stay put” policy and jumping out of a second-floor window when smoke began to fill 18-storey Hind House, on the Harvist estate in Hornsey Road.

The fire affected only one flat on the second floor, but 200 residents – with images of the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze still fresh – had already scrambled to escape from the block when the fire brigade arrived shortly after 1.30am.

“My kids were asleep and I heard voices saying: ‘Fire, fire!’ I took my son and wrapped him in a towel and went down the stairs,” said Nabila Hashim, 25, who lives on the 16th floor. “There was too much smoke. My son couldn’t breathe.

“Two people jumped from the window. The lady broke her leg and another man as well.”

She added: “Everyone is shocked.”

Maryan Osman, who lives on the 10th floor, added: “I opened the door and there was a girl screaming: ‘Fire, fire! Get all the children out. We’re going down!’ Everyone is thinking about the [Grenfell Tower] fire. Everybody was scared and shocked.”

Fire crews helped five people escape via ladders from the second floor. The blaze was under control two hours later.

Councillor Diarmaid Ward, Islington Council’s housing chief, visited the estate on Sunday. “The early signs are that the building did its job in preventing the spread of the fire. We have had a concierge on-site since 8am to assist residents,” he said.

London Fire Brigade station manager John Ryan, who was at the scene in Holloway, said: “I want to reassure residents that this was a small fire which we easily contained.”