Grenfell Tower inquiry: CCTV images of residents fleeing the fire shown at public inquiry into tragedy that claimed 72 lives

Hatty Collier21 June 2018

Extraordinary images of residents fleeing the fire at Grenfell Tower have been played at the public inquiry into the tragedy which claimed 72 lives.

CCTV shows Behailu Kebede, 45, who lived in flat 16 where the fire broke out, walking barefoot down the staircase of the tower while looking at his mobile phone.

In another astonishing scene, two women are seen manoeuvering a heavy suitcase at the top of a flight of stairs as the deadly fire took hold.

Audio clips of Mr Kebede's 999 calls to the emergency services, in which he can be heard growing frustrated with his female flatmate Almaz Kinfu for bringing a suitcase, were also played to the inquiry on Thursday afternoon.

Behailu Kebede, 45, leaving Grenfell Tower barefoot
Grenfell Inquiry

Mr Kebede later told the police he was “annoyed” with her for bringing the large silver suitcase because “no-one else had brought luggage”.

CCTV stills show two women leaving Grenfell Tower with a silver suitcase on the night of the fire
Grenfell Inquiry

CCTV stills shown to the inquiry showed her sitting on the stairwell next to it for more than 10 minutes. She did not leave the tower until 1.09am, 15 minutes after the fire broke out.

Unaware of the tragedy that is about to unfold, Mr Kebede is also heard calmly telling a 999 call handler, who asks if he needs the assistance of the police: “No, no, the fire brigade are here now, it’s alright, it’s OK.”

The call handler asks again if he needs the assistance of the police, to which Mr Kebede replies: “No, no I told you, the fire brigade is outside.”

He continued: “No, no it’s not the police, just the fire.”

Behailu Kebede, 45, who lived in the flat where the Grenfell Tower fire first started, leaving the building

The call handler replies: “There’s a fire?” to which Mr Kebede responds: “Yeah, the fire brigade are here now. I don’t need the police, OK.”

Ending the call, the handler replies: “No worries, OK bye.”

Mr Kebede was woken by the sound of his smoke alarm shortly before 1am on June 14, and found white smoke billowing from behind his fridge-freezer.

He alerted his two female housemates, Elsa Afeworki and Ms Kinfu, before knocking on every door of the neighbouring flats on the block's fourth floor and then rushing outside.

Residents attempting to carry a suitcase down the stairs after the Grenfell Tower broke out in Flat 16 
Grenfell Inquiry

Security footage stills shown at the inquiry into the disaster on Thursday pictured Ms Afeworki walking down the stairs into the main lobby at approximately 12.56am, two minutes after the first 999 call.

She is followed at around 12.58am by Mr Kebede, who is seen wearing just a T-shirt and a pair of trousers, but no shoes as he looks down at his phone.

Within two minutes, the first firefighter is seen entering the building.

Witness statements given by Mr Kebede - an Ethiopian minicab driver who had lived in the west London block for around 25 years - were read to the hearing.

Chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick had previously been told that the survivor was too "terrified" to give evidence following a media campaign of harassment.

The first firefighters enter Grenfell Tower on the night of the devastating blaze

For the first time, sections of his 999 call at 12.54am were translated from Amharic, during which he could be heard telling someone: "Grab it and leave, just leave. What kind of person is she?"

Counsel to the inquiry Richard Millett told the inquiry at Holborn Bars that Mr Kebede said these words were directed to Ms Kinfu, who had left carrying a suitcase.

Mr Kebede said in a later police statement: "I was a bit annoyed because I saw her with a heavy suitcase and I wanted everyone to leave immediately and no-one else had brought luggage."

A fortnight ago, Mr Kebede's lawyer had condemned as a "nasty lie" media reports that Mr Kebede had packed a bag before fleeing the fire.

CCTV was also shown of Ms Kinfu sitting on the stairwell next to a large silver suitcase with clothes visible on top for more than 10 minutes, as other residents fled the building.

PA

Firefighters could be seen passing her and she eventually left the block at around 1.09am.

She said in a statement read to the inquiry: "My suitcase was near the door in my bedroom and I quickly picked it up as I remembered I had some clothes in it."

During a lengthy statement of truth to the inquiry, dated June 1 2018, the former resident said he had complained about the quality of a window refit now blamed for fire's spread.

Mr Kebede and nearly "everyone" in Grenfell Tower had been concerned about the quality of a recent refurbishment and had raised the issue with both the council and their MP.

His kitchen window was replaced during the work, which "caused problems" as "air was entering my flat through these gaps" around the frame.

Builders were sent around who "put sealant in the gaps". On Wednesday, the inquiry heard that this sealant was flammable.

Experts believe the inferno on June 14 escaped through gaps around Mr Kebede's window on to the external facade, which had been open on the night of the fire, according to one of his statements.

Mr Kebede, however, said he had "no idea" that "highly flammable cladding" had been installed on the outside of the building.

He had moved to the UK in 1990, was joined by his two brothers in 1991, and was offered a flat in Grenfell Tower soon afterwards

His statement said: "It is difficult to explain just how happy I was to move into Flat 16 in Grenfell Tower with my younger brothers."

Mr Kebede became friends with many Eritreans and Ethiopians in the building, which, he said, was a multicultural "melting pot".

Eventually his siblings moved out and, by the time of the fire, he was living with two women who had needed a place to stay, leaving him sleeping on a mattress in the living room.

He bought the fridge-freezer around which the fire is thought to have started several years earlier for around £275 new, his statement said.

On the night of the fire, Mr Kebede heard no explosions and saw no flames in his flat.

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