Fire victim named by police following blaze in Lower Clapton squat

Chloë Mayer, Senior Reporter Friday, August 17, 2012
3:02 PM

The 32-year-old man killed in a blaze at a squat in Lower Clapton was named by police this week.

Kzysztof Waleczek, a Polish national, died on August 4 after the fire broke out at a disused hostel in Lower Clapton Road, which was once a rehab centre for addicts opened by Princess Diana in the early 1980s.

Three other squatters managed to get out safely, but a man in his 20s remains in critical condition in hospital after suffering burns and jumping 25ft out of a window to escape the flames.

Mr Waleczek’s body lay in the property for three days because the building was deemed too unsafe to enter, but a post-mortem examination was carried out last Wednesday (August 8) and gave the cause of death as smoke inhalation.

A 37-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of arson the day after the fire, and was bailed tor return to a north London police station next month pending an investigation.

Detectives working with experts from the London Fire Brigade are still trying to establish the cause of the fire, which broke out at 4am.

Hackney Police are appealing for anyone with information to contact them on 101, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.