Behailu Kebede, a father of one, is believed to be the one from whose apartment the London tower inferno started. The 44 year old Ethiopian born mini
Behailu Kebede, a father of one, is believed to be the one from whose apartment the London tower inferno started. The 44 year old Ethiopian born mini cab driver raised the alarm after flames took hold in his flat at number 16 on the fourth floor from his faulty fridge. He first banged on the apartment door of his neighbor, Maryann Adam who lived at number 14 in the early hours of Wednesday to tell her that there was a fire in his kitchen.
She said: ‘He knocked on the door, and he said there was a fire in his flat. It was exactly 12.50am because I was sleeping and it woke me up. The fire was small in the kitchen. I could see it because the flat door was open. There was no alarm.’
Even though Kebede raised the alarm, escaped unhurt and is still in shock, not many were so lucky. Although the official death toll was raised to 17, it is feared that the inferno may have claimed more than 100 lives as there were more than 400 people living the high rise.
Kebede
Chaos and confusion hit the block as the fire began in Mr Kebede’s apartment and it quickly reached the top floor of the 27-story block within just 15 minutes. Witnesses watched helplessly as people trapped in smoke-filled flats took it in turns to suck breaths of air through windows designed to open only fractionally.
Trapped residents flashed torches, their mobile phones and even fairy lights from their windows in a desperate attempt to attract the attention of rescuers. One witness said: ‘People were taking it in turns to get air from the window, and flashing their phones, and then the fire just took them. You could hear people yelling from the top, ‘Help, get my children out!’ and you are just standing there, and watching people die, burning…’
Among those missing so far are a six-month-old baby. The baby girl’s mother, Farah Hamdan, and father, Omar Belkadi, have also not been seen since the fire but her older sisters, eight-year-old Malek Belkadi and Tamzin, six, were found in a London hospital.
Charred remains of the tower
Bosses of the company running the building and those who carried out recent refurbishment work were challenged to explain whether new cladding led it to go up like a firelighter in around 15 minutes. So far, more than £1 million has been raised to help those affected by the fire, while volunteers and charities have helped feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, who live in the London borough, donated to the fund set up to help those affected, and the Queen offered her condolences to victims’ families.
Ironically, the tower called Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, West London, was only just refurbished a year before for £10million.
