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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