Brave man catches four-year-old girl thrown by mum from the 5th floor seconds before flat was engulfed in flames
A GIRL of four was saved from the Grenfell Tower inferno when her mum dropped her from their smoke-filled fifth-floor flat into the arms of a neighbour.
The terrified child escaped uninjured after the man, known only as Pat, caught her “like a rugby ball tucked in his chest”.
But witnesses said the flat was engulfed in flames seconds later and the mother was feared to have died.
Resident Kadelia Woods, 20, said: “The mum had the little girl’s head wrapped in a towel and was holding her out of the window and was screaming for help. The fire was raging like crazy. It was about 2am and the flat was filled with smoke.
“My neighbour Pat, who’s in his 40s, was calling up to her shouting, ‘Drop her, don’t worry I’ll catch her’. The mum was screaming, ‘No, no, I can’t, I can’t’.
“Pat kept reassuring her and then the girl just dropped. Everyone’s hearts stopped as she fell. We were all fearing the worst.
“But Pat managed to catch her like a rugby ball tucked in his chest and he just clung on to her.
“She had a pink dressing gown on and she was just screaming hysterically for her mum. The paramedics were trying to put an oxygen mask on her but she was just screaming and screaming. I don't think her mum survived. When I looked up again the whole floor was on fire.”
Pat, who lives alone in a low-rise block of flats next to the tower, is thought to be in hospital himself after his heroics.
What we know so far:
- A huge fire engulfed 24-storey Grenfell Tower in West London just before 1am on Wednesday night
- Seventeen deaths have been confirmed but the death toll is feared to be more than 100 - with many people still missing
- The first victim has been named as Syrian refugee Mohammed Al Haj Ali, 23
- The Prime Minister has promised a full public inquiry into the disaster and police have launched a criminal investigation
- The blaze is thought to have been sparked by a faulty fridge
- 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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Meanwhile, another mum dropped her baby to safety from the tenth floor.
The desperate woman called from her window, “I am going to drop my baby”.
The tot, which plummeted into the arms of a man 100ft below, was taken to hospital but was said to be largely unharmed.
Witness Ashai Jama, 46, said: “We were joyful the baby survived, that out of this tragedy something good came out of it.”
However, community leaders said they believed the mother perished in the blaze.
Meanwhile, resident Zara said she saw another mum drop her son aged about five from the fifth or sixth floor.
She added: “I think that he’s OK. I think he might have just had some broken bones and bruises. It was like a scene from a Hollywood movie.”
- DO you know Pat? Call our news desk on 020 7782 4100, text 0742 372 0250 or email [email protected]
Meanwhile it has been revealed that the cladding used on the building is banned in America for fire safety reasons.
The aluminium panels are not allowed to be used on US buildings over 40 feet and it has been claimed a fireproof version would have been available for £5,000.
A salesman for US-based Reynobond told : “It’s because of the fire and smoke spread,” he told the paper.
“The fire-resistant [variant] is fire-resistant. The polyethylene [PE] is just plastic.”
Reynobond’s fire-resistant panel sells for £24 per square metre – £2 more expensive than the standard version.
A rough calculation by The Times suggests panels covered more than 2,000 square metres on Grenfell, meaning contractors could have acquired the fire-resistant version for less than £5,000 extra.
The PE panels are also rated as “flammable” in Germany.
It has also been reported that East Sussex-based company Harley Facades provided aluminium composite material for the 23-storey building – as well as 14 others across London housing hundreds of families.
It is not known if these towers are fitted with the fire-resistant variant.
SIX WHO SHARE BLAME
THE deadly fire at Grenfell Tower was a tragedy waiting to happen — but who is to blame? Labour MP David Lammy has called for arrests to be made over the “corporate manslaughter”. As investigations begin into how the blaze spread so quickly we reveal the failings that may be held responsible for the disaster.
The council: An ex-employee has accused Kensington and Chelsea council of penny-pinching after being quoted £30million to renovate the block. The property manager said: “Surveyors told the council not to use the cheapest materials but they still accepted the lowest bid.” A “costly” external fire escape was also axed. But council leader Nick Paget-Brown hailed the work to “improve the quality of life”.
The landlords: Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, responsible for maintenance, got £11million in taxpayer cash last year. But in November a tenant group warned “only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude of our landlord”. The non-profit group’s chief exec Robert Black said yesterday: “We are absolutely devastated.”
The contractors: The building’s external cladding was made up of units called Reynobond rainscreen cassettes. Harley Curtain Wall was paid £2.6million to supply the panels, a “commonly used product”. The firm, of Crowborough, East Sussex, went bust shortly afterwards and was bought out by Harley Facades, also owned by boss Ray Bailey, 58. He said: “We are not aware of any link between the fire and exterior cladding.”
The politicians: The PM’s new chief of staff failed to carry out a review of fire regulations despite warnings. A probe promised by Housing Minister Gavin Barwell was delayed last year. And in 2013, then-Communities Secretary Eric Pickles rejected a coroner’s call for sprinkler systems in refurbed high-rises after a 2009 fire in Camberwell, South London, killed six.
The gas company: Residents raised concerns about exposed gas pipes at Grenfell Tower only weeks ago. Renovations to replace new gas risers, which bring in supplies from street level, were carried out earlier this year by National Grid Gas Distribution, now rebranded as Cadent.Cadent said stairwell pipes were boxed in with material fireproof for two hours, but work was still being done to contain floor pipes.
The fridge manufacturer: London Fire Brigade has accused fridge makers of dragging their heels over safety. Since 2010 faulty fridges have resulted in the deaths of seven people in Britain. A spate of recent fires originated in the capacitor, a device that stores electrical energy. While most modern fridges are covered in metal, older models still use a highly flammable plastic backing which gives off toxic gas.