Six fire engines and 35 firefighters and officers were called to a blaze in a range of shops on Cranbrook Road in Ilford yesterday afternoon.
It is believed that the fire started at the rear of a newsagent and spread to neighbouring premises.
Two people left the building before the Brigade arrived. Thankfully they were uninjured.
The Brigade was called 1506 and the fire was under control by 1758. Fire crews from Ilford, Stratford, Barking, Homerton and Leytonstone fire stations attended the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.