National Post (National Edition)
Hard questions begin with: Have you seen...
Posters of missing people have sprung up all around the burned-out hulk of Grenfell Tower in London. Whole families are still missing and authorities say the death toll will rise sharply from the 17 already identified.
Amid the horrifying tales of death and desperation at Grenfell Tower in London came stories of astonishing resilience, hope and survival.
Ines Alves, 16, fled her 13th floor apartment after her father, Miguel, a chauffeur, woke her and her brother just after 1 a.m., urging them to leave by the stairs.
She took refuge at a friend’s house overnight before making her way to the local Sacred Heart School on Wednesday to sit an exam at 9 a.m., wearing the clothes she had fled in.
“It still hasn’t completely hit me that we’ve lost our house,” she said.
Khalid Ahmed, 20, was credited with saving the lives of many on the eighth floor after he frantically woke them.
The quick-thinking engineering student was counting down the minutes to the break of the Ramadan fast, when he first smelled burning. He shook his aunt awake before running out into the smoke-filled hall and banging on neighbours’ doors.
“No fire alarms went off and there were no warning,” he said.
Khalid’s aunt, Amina Mohamed, 46, said: “He saved us all.”
Sidani Atmani, 41, made it to safety from the 15th floor, but only after trying to help a disabled man get down the stairs.
Clarita Ghavimi, 66, a grandmother who had lived in the tower for 34 years, was rescued from the 10th floor by brave neighbours who battled through thick smoke to carry her down stairs.
On Thursday, London firefighters combed through the burned-out building in a grim search for missing people as police and the prime minister launched investigations into the deadly inferno, with pressure building on officials to explain the disaster and assure that similar buildings around the country are safe.
At least 17 people were killed as flames raced through the 24-storey tower early Wednesday, trapping people inside their apartments.
Officials expect the death toll to rise significantly.
Many people remained unaccounted for Thursday and missing persons posters have become ubiquitous around the area.
As commuters emerging from the local subway station, it was clear there was a community in mourning. A poster asked “Have you seen Jessica Urbano?” above the picture of a smiling darkhaired 12-year-old girl. More posters were taped along fences, on walls and even on one man’s chest. Smoke and ash was everywhere.
Prime Minister Theresa May visited the scene and announced a public inquiry, a type of probe that’s used to investigate issues of major public concern.
“People deserve answers. The inquiry will give them that,” said May.
The government has committed to rehousing all those who lost their homes in the fire in the local area.
However, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “Kensington is a tale of two cities. The south part of Kensington is incredibly wealthy, it’s the wealthiest part of the whole country.
“The ward where this fire took place is, I think, the poorest ward in the whole country and properties must be found — requisitioned if necessary — to make sure those residents do get rehoused locally.
“It can’t be acceptable that in London we have luxury buildings and luxury flats left empty as land-banking for the future while the homeless and the poor look for somewhere to live. We have to address these issues.”
Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, faced an angry crowd as he visited the scene of the fire.
He was confronted by a young boy who asked “how many children have died?” as he talked to an angry crowd at Grenfell Tower. The boy added: “What are you going to do about it?”
The mayor replied: “People are justifiably angry and I share their anger and I share their demand for answers.”
Queen Elizabeth praised the firefighters’ bravery, and their commissioner noted the trauma they had seen. One officer was in tears after seeing someone plunge out a window, Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton told Sky News.
“We like to think of ourselves as ‘roughty, toughty’ and heroes — they are heroes — but they have feelings. People were absolutely devastated by yesterday’s events,” Cotton said.
Some parts of the tower were unsafe for firefighters to enter Thursday, so the fire department worked with structural engineers to shore it up so crews could conduct thorough searches for victims, Cotton said. Specially trained dogs were being brought in to aid the search. Police were unsure whether they would even be able to identify everyone.
Authorities have refused to speculate on what could have started the blaze. But the focus has turned to renovations completed last year that added decorative touches to the building.
The project included installing insulated exterior cladding, double-glazed windows and a communal heating system.
“Some very hard questions have to be asked, and some very hard questions must be answered” about the cladding, building regulations, fire protections and more, said Corbyn.
NO FIRE ALARMS WENT OFF AND THERE WERE NO WARNING.