On-going investigation: police were on site at Duppas Hill Terrace for much of last week following the fire, where two young men were killed
A second man has died following a fire in a derelict house on Duppas Hill Terrace last week.
Police now say that they are treating the fire as non-suspicious, despite the two fatalities and having had detectives on site in Waddon for much of the past week. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the London Fire Brigade.
Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters from Croydon, Wallington and Woodside responded, were called out at around 1.30am last Monday, February 24, to deal with a fire on the ground and first floors of the two-storey house. The fire was under control by 2.47am.
Two men were found unconscious in the property.
One, thought to be in his 20s, was declared dead at the scene.
The second victim, also aged in his 20s, was taken to hospital, where he died on Thursday, February 26. “Both victims’ next-of-kin have been informed,” the Met Police said.
“We won’t be naming the men as this incident is not suspicious,” a Met spokesperson told Inside Croydon. It will now be a matter for the Coroner at the official inquest whether the victims will be identified.
A third man, also in his 20s, was found at the scene suffering smoke inhalation. He was taken to hospital, where his injuries were assessed as non-life-changing.
Locals remember all too well the fire on New Year’s Eve 2010 in what had been the Sea Cadets’ headquarters on Southbridge Place by the Croydon Flyover, which claimed the life of homeless man, Sylwester Mendzelewski, who was sleeping in the basement. Two Croydon teens were later convicted of manslaughter.
The building in the latest fire is thought to have been vacant for at least 10 years, since it was bought by a developer. They are understood to have sold the site, with planning permission, to another property business, whose own plans were never progressed.
“Now, like the Sea Cadets house in the Waldrons, it mysteriously catches fire and, also like the Sea Cadets fire, people have died,” one concerned local told Inside Croydon.
The Metropolitan Police says that anyone with information about the Duppas Hill terrace fire on February 24, 2026, should call 101, quoting reference 396/23FEB.
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This is a tragedy and my thoughts go out to the families and friends of these individuals.
If this is the property I’m thinking of, it has indeed been empty for 10 plus years and had had planning permission for flats for some time. The problem is, we need family housing, not more flats. For whatever reason the developers have done nothing. Given the council’s financial position what I’m going to write next isn’t currently possible.
However, given the length of time that this property has been empty it should be possible to compulsorily purchase this house , bring it up to standard and get it rented out to a family who are currently on the waiting list and probably in temporary or other unsuitable accommodation. What’s more the purchase price should not be at today’s value, but the value when the current developer purchased it.
This is a house and potentially someone’s home, not a landbank for some developer.
Duppas Hill Terrace is very close to Croydon fire station (just vertically above it), but if the fire brigade hoses aren’t powerful enough to reach from the fire station itself, and they had to drive there, they probably have to go miles to get to it ?!
Duppas Hill was, apparently, Croydon’s first recreation ground – opened in 1865.
Wikipedia also tells us that it was the venue of a mass rally of trade unionists and workers on the eve of the 1926 General Strike.
It was also the site of Croydon’s biggest workhouse.
You on commission from Mr Wikipedia?