Without meaning to imply anything, the statements taken from the fleeing residents of this tragedy
are quite telling in many ways. This could be an accident, but considering the general ethnicity of
those commenting and the concerns of recent events in London, it will be interesting to see how
this develops.
(The page from The Guardian is updated every few minutes)
'...I spoke to Mahmoud, a 25-year-old refugee from Syria who had come to the UK seeking safety.
He lived in Grenfall tower and was waiting for news of his friend Mohammed, who he last spoke to
at 3.30am when he was still trapped in the flat next to the one they shared, desperately trying to
escape.
Mahmoud said he lives with two brothers, 24-year-old Mohammed and 25-year-old Omar who is
in hospital. Mahmoud had been working and was out when his friend called him to say the tower
was on fire.
When Mahmoud, who lives on the 14th floor of the tower with the brothers, got back the fire was
small and not on their side of the building, but he watched as it grew and wrapped around the
tower...'
'...London mayor Sadiq Khan said questions need to be answered about the fire advice given
to residents. Asked on Radio 4’s Today programme about advice to residents stay inside their
flats in the event of a fire (see earlier) Khan said: “Thankfully residents didn’t stay in their flats
and fled to safety.
“One of the concerns that we have is it’s a 24-storey building but for obvious reasons, with the
scale of the fire, our experts weren’t able to reach all the way to the top, so of course these
are questions that need to be answered as soon as possible.”
He added: “It’s very distressing, not just for those of us watching as lay people, but also very
distressing for the emergency services....'
'...A man identified as Methrob, who lived on the 17th floor, told LBC Radio: “I heard the fire
trucks and so I was alerted that something was going on. There was no fire alarm in the
building, we don’t have an integrated fire alarm system.”
He said the fire was inside one apartment but added the “real issue was when it caught fire
to the cladding outside.”
“That’s when I noticed the fire from outside when I looked out the window.
The cladding went up like a matchstick.”
Methrob said residents had been concerned about safety, adding there had been warnings
“for over a year”...'
'...Joanna O’Connor, a local resident, told Sky News: “One of our neighbours, her sister,
husband and children were in the building, it was their neighbours’ flat that caught fire.
“So it’s very close to us, we’ve got neighbours whose families are in that building.”...'
'...Local resident Tamara told BBC News: "Around 12.30/1am my mum called me and said
there was a fire outside. By the time I got there the whole right side of the building was on fire
the whole thing was engulfed in flames.
“We could hear people screaming ‘help me’ so me and my brother, with some other people
who live in the area, ran over to the estate to where you could still get underneath it and there
were people just throwing their kids out saying ‘save my children’.
“The fire crew, ambulance and police couldn’t do anything, they couldn’t get in, and they were
just telling them to stay where they are, and we’ll come and get you.
“But things quickly escalated beyond measure and they couldn’t go back in and get them.
“My brother has a lot of school friends who are still wondering if their friends have made it
out, they haven’t got in contact with them or heard anything.”...'
'...Line Sterring, 23, from Denmark, and Isabel Afonso, 22, from Portugal, live in Testerton
Walk, next to Grenfell Tower.
I spoke to them as they sat on the pavement after being evacuated from their building.
They had been given water by the emergency services.
Sterring said she thought noises she heard at about 1.30am came from neighbours.
“My first thought was who is having a party, it was noisy but not screaming and shouting
at that point. But then we looked out of the window and everyone was looking at the
building.”...'
Estate resident Ahmed Chellat, who spoke to Alice Ross earlier, has been told that his
relatives are safe after they were told to stay in their 21st-floor flat with wet towels under
the doors.
His sister, brother-in-law, and their two children were advised to stay in the flat and that
help was on its way. He told ITV they were safe.
Chellat confirmed that residents of the estate have had concerns about fire safety for
years. He said: “It has been going on for quite some time regarding the safety of the tower.
I live in the estate. The safety of the blocks has been a concern for a long time, not just
now.”...'
'...Siar Naqshabandi, at the Rugby Portobello centre, said he lives on the third floor and
said his brother, who was in the building, heard no fire alarms. “I came back at about
1.45am and saw the building was on fire. I rang him [his brother] and said, get out.”
He has more family living on the 23rd floor and an uncle is still missing. “They were telling
people not to leave the building,” he said. “I told them to get down. They said we’re not
allowed to get out.”...'
SOURCE:
are quite telling in many ways. This could be an accident, but considering the general ethnicity of
those commenting and the concerns of recent events in London, it will be interesting to see how
this develops.
(The page from The Guardian is updated every few minutes)
'...I spoke to Mahmoud, a 25-year-old refugee from Syria who had come to the UK seeking safety.
He lived in Grenfall tower and was waiting for news of his friend Mohammed, who he last spoke to
at 3.30am when he was still trapped in the flat next to the one they shared, desperately trying to
escape.
Mahmoud said he lives with two brothers, 24-year-old Mohammed and 25-year-old Omar who is
in hospital. Mahmoud had been working and was out when his friend called him to say the tower
was on fire.
When Mahmoud, who lives on the 14th floor of the tower with the brothers, got back the fire was
small and not on their side of the building, but he watched as it grew and wrapped around the
tower...'
'...London mayor Sadiq Khan said questions need to be answered about the fire advice given
to residents. Asked on Radio 4’s Today programme about advice to residents stay inside their
flats in the event of a fire (see earlier) Khan said: “Thankfully residents didn’t stay in their flats
and fled to safety.
“One of the concerns that we have is it’s a 24-storey building but for obvious reasons, with the
scale of the fire, our experts weren’t able to reach all the way to the top, so of course these
are questions that need to be answered as soon as possible.”
He added: “It’s very distressing, not just for those of us watching as lay people, but also very
distressing for the emergency services....'
'...A man identified as Methrob, who lived on the 17th floor, told LBC Radio: “I heard the fire
trucks and so I was alerted that something was going on. There was no fire alarm in the
building, we don’t have an integrated fire alarm system.”
He said the fire was inside one apartment but added the “real issue was when it caught fire
to the cladding outside.”
“That’s when I noticed the fire from outside when I looked out the window.
The cladding went up like a matchstick.”
Methrob said residents had been concerned about safety, adding there had been warnings
“for over a year”...'
'...Joanna O’Connor, a local resident, told Sky News: “One of our neighbours, her sister,
husband and children were in the building, it was their neighbours’ flat that caught fire.
“So it’s very close to us, we’ve got neighbours whose families are in that building.”...'
'...Local resident Tamara told BBC News: "Around 12.30/1am my mum called me and said
there was a fire outside. By the time I got there the whole right side of the building was on fire
the whole thing was engulfed in flames.
“We could hear people screaming ‘help me’ so me and my brother, with some other people
who live in the area, ran over to the estate to where you could still get underneath it and there
were people just throwing their kids out saying ‘save my children’.
“The fire crew, ambulance and police couldn’t do anything, they couldn’t get in, and they were
just telling them to stay where they are, and we’ll come and get you.
“But things quickly escalated beyond measure and they couldn’t go back in and get them.
“My brother has a lot of school friends who are still wondering if their friends have made it
out, they haven’t got in contact with them or heard anything.”...'
'...Line Sterring, 23, from Denmark, and Isabel Afonso, 22, from Portugal, live in Testerton
Walk, next to Grenfell Tower.
I spoke to them as they sat on the pavement after being evacuated from their building.
They had been given water by the emergency services.
Sterring said she thought noises she heard at about 1.30am came from neighbours.
“My first thought was who is having a party, it was noisy but not screaming and shouting
at that point. But then we looked out of the window and everyone was looking at the
building.”...'
Estate resident Ahmed Chellat, who spoke to Alice Ross earlier, has been told that his
relatives are safe after they were told to stay in their 21st-floor flat with wet towels under
the doors.
His sister, brother-in-law, and their two children were advised to stay in the flat and that
help was on its way. He told ITV they were safe.
Chellat confirmed that residents of the estate have had concerns about fire safety for
years. He said: “It has been going on for quite some time regarding the safety of the tower.
I live in the estate. The safety of the blocks has been a concern for a long time, not just
now.”...'
'...Siar Naqshabandi, at the Rugby Portobello centre, said he lives on the third floor and
said his brother, who was in the building, heard no fire alarms. “I came back at about
1.45am and saw the building was on fire. I rang him [his brother] and said, get out.”
He has more family living on the 23rd floor and an uncle is still missing. “They were telling
people not to leave the building,” he said. “I told them to get down. They said we’re not
allowed to get out.”...'
SOURCE:
Edith Head Gives Good Wardrobe.