I lived in flat where Grenfell Fire started… it began in my kitchen – now I’m a ghost of a man after tragedy killed 72
A MAN who lived in the flat where the Grenfell Tower fire started was cleared of any blame but remains “broken inside”.
Behaliu Kebede, a minicab driver, says the disaster which killed 72 people has left him “a ghost of a man”.
The fire, on June 14 2017, started on the fourth floor but quickly spread to the rest of the building.
More than 350 people were thought to be inside when the fire – which lasted 24 hours – started.
Kedebe read his statement to a hearing in central London on Wednesday – attended by 24 executives from companies accused of responsibility for the fire.
The minicab driver said: “I know, in my head, that the fire was the fault of RBKC [the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea], Celotex, the Government… in my heart – which is full of fear and grief, it was in my flat, my kitchen, where it started.
“It’s a deep pain, a shame that I carry.”
The event was put together after a compensation deal was reached in May last year for the people affected by the disaster.
A total sum of £150million would be given in compensation to the 900 cases that were settled during that legal hearing.
Before the testimonies began, the names of all those who died in the fire were read aloud, followed by a 72-second silence – one for each life lost.
Although Behaliu was cleared of any wrongdoing, he said he could not attend the community’s marches or the inquiry.
He said: “I did not have the courage.
“I can’t really say I’m any better [today].
“My partner and my children live with a ghost of a man.”
Event organisers say this four-day event is being held to give residents, survivors and the bereaved an opportunity to “speak directly to organisations that many hold responsible for the fire”.
Other members of the community demanded jail sentences for those they feel are responsible for the tragic deaths, as executives from companies involved looked on.
An investigation found the fire which broke out in Behaliu’s flat, set light to the flammable exterior cladding.
The cladding was fitted to the estate as part of an £8.6million refurb, conducted by Rydon Construction.
A hearing heard that the London Fire Brigade had warned all 33 councils in the city about the risk of cladding on tower blocks.
Later it was revealed that the material used in the cladding on Grenfell was the cheaper, more flammable version of the two available options, according to The Guardian.
The devastating blaze was described as “the city’s greatest tragedy since World War Two” in a powerful statement by the inquiry’s chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick.
Grenfell Tower fire Timeline
Detailed timings set out from the Grenfell Public Inquiry
- 00.54 Behailu Kebede calls 999 to report a fire in Flat 16, floor 4 Grenfell Tower.
- 00.59 First firefighters reach the tower.
- 01.09 Fire breaks out of Flat 16 into exterior cladding and starts to climb the east facade rapidly.
- 01.14 Firefighters enter the kitchen of Flat 16 for the first time.
- 01.26 Met Police declares a Major Incident.
- 01.27 Fire reaches the roof and starts to spread horizontally.
- 01.42 The LAS declares a Significant Incident.
- 02.00 Flames travel across the north and east elevations of the tower, and start to spread around the crown and diagonally across the face of the building, affecting flats in the south-east and north-west corners.
- 02.35 The control room decides to revoke the “stay put” advice and tell all occupants calling 999 to leave the tower.
- 02.50 Fire spreads horizontally across the south elevation at the crown. Commissioner Dany Cotton arrives at Grenfell Tower.
- 03.30 Flames continue to spread across the south and west elevations of the tower.
- 08.07 Elpidio Bonifacio, the last survivor to leave the tower, is evacuated.