Sick lies are being spread about the Grenfell Tower firefighters – here’s why they actually are heroes
SICK lies about the brave firefighters tackling the enormous deadly inferno at London's Grenfell Tower today have been spreading online.
Some social media users falsely claimed the fire service took more than two hours to arrive at the scene in Latimer Road, west London.
The huge blaze started just before 1am and quickly engulfed the building, killing 12 with scores more feared dead.
More than 200 firefighters were dispatched to battle the blaze at Grenfell Tower but another 100 had to be brought in to relieve their exhausted colleagues.
They had to cope with thick smoke, flames and burning debris in conditions described as like a 'war zone'.
One compared the disaster to the Twin Towers horror of 9/11.
But their efforts were praised by residents who said they had undoubtedly saved lives, singling out one firefighter who was badly hurt, went to hospital and then returned to duty at the scene.
Survivor Natasha Elcock, 39, said: “One of the firemen got badly burned.
"He had a very nasty burn to his neck but he had it treated and went back out to the scene to help after the hospital. He is a total hero.”
The crews arrived within six minutes of the blaze breaking out at the West London tower.
At first, they focused on getting as many residents out of the building as possible.
Instead, they boarded cherry pickers to use their hoses to try to douse the flames around those waving for help from windows of their flats.
One firefighter, Terry, who has served for 27 years, revealed how he and other emergency personnel were escorted into the burning building by police officers, who used riot shields to protect them from falling debris.
He told LBC radio: “I was at that fire from 2am until 10am. When we turned up we could only see one side on fire but in a couple of hours that whole building was engulfed.
“It was like The Towering Inferno and 9/11 rolled into one.
“To get in the building we were running a gauntlet of flying debris and the police were using their riot shields.
“Me and my crew were involved in rescues. On the stairwells, on the way up to certain flats we were detailed to go to by fire survival guidance. People were coming down the stairs in smoke.
“I don’t know how they were breathing. We had breathing apparatuses on and we were basically carrying them down the stairs.”
Terry said he had never seen “anything like it, ever”.
He added: “What we saw, that death toll is going to rise.
“No matter what plan you had to deal with that sort of fire, that plan was going to fall down. It was just like those images of 9/11.
“The amount of kit that this job has absorbed from the London Fire Brigade is unbelievable. It’s like a war zone.”
The fire crews were limited by their breathing apparatus, which can hold only about 30 to 45 minutes of air.
They worked in short bursts as safety rules limit the time they are allowed to spend close to the smoke and flames.
Once the fire was subdued at about midday, the crews began moving up through the 27-storey tower block in the hunt for survivors.
No one left on the top three floors was thought to have survived, amid suggestions it was the biggest fire seen in London since the Blitz.
Throughout the day, dust-covered firefighters could be seen taking much-needed breaks.
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Resident Maxine Davies, 32, a full-time mum, said: “The men and women fighting this have been fantastic and deserve all the praise they get.
“They have risked their lives for others and I know it is their job but these people have been going above and beyond.
“They must be exhausted. They’ve been fighting it all day.
“It has been burning for well over 12 hours and you can still see them going up in a cherry picker battling the flames.”
Meanwhile, one former chief firefighter, Jon Hall, described it as a “third world-type accident” and asked: “How can this possibly happen in 2017?”
He tweeted: “It represents a failure of every component of fire safety & building management. No words for this.”
It comes after some social media users claimed firefighters had taken hours to arrive.
It is not clear whether they were misinformed or intentional trolls.
At 4.12am one person wrote on Twitter: "WHERE ARE THE FIREFIGHTERS? THAT THE F*** IS TAKING SO LONG!? Fire getting out of control, people still trapped in Grenfell Tower, Latimer Road."
She then added: "One woman said it took them 2 hours to arrive when their station is 2 block away.";
It is not clear whether the woman even lives in London.
Another woman wrote: "The firefighters were about 1 hour and 45 minutes too late."
What we know so far:
- The Metropolitan Police have confirmed 12 people are dead but the death toll is expected to rise after a huge fire engulfed Grenfell Tower in West London just before 1am on Wednesday night
- The 24-storey high tower block has 120 apartments
- Around 74 people have been taken to six hospitals in the capital, with 18 in a critical condition, while dozens of others are missing and feared dead
- The Prime Minister launched an urgent investigation into the disaster
- Authorities say the cause of the fire is still not known — with some suggesting it was sparked by a fridge fire
- Experts warned the blaze was spread by cladding panels which are fitted to countless buildings across Britain
- Residents were seen jumping from upper floors in scenes reminiscent of September 11
- Horrified witnesses told of babies being thrown from windows by desperate mothers
- It was revealed the block had only recently undergone a £10million refurb but still had no sprinkler system installed
- Designers insisted the refurbishment work complied with building regulations
- Residents raised safety concerns four years ago, but were ignored
- A former housing minister was blasted for postponing a government review into tower block safety
- Celebrities and ordinary Londoners have united to provide food, clothes, money and shelter for survivors
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