Grenfell Inquiry day 57: firefighter evidence ‘a slap in the face’, says survivor

Day 57

Appearing before the public inquiry into the disaster, Rosemary Oyewole said Dany Cotton’s claim – which she made during a hearing in September – was “a slap in the face”.

The secondary school science teacher, who lived on the 14th floor of the tower with her young daughter and her fiancé, Seun, described the family’s terrifying escape from the tower through “acrid black smoke” and “relentless and unstoppable heat” in the early hours of the morning.

She told the inquiry they had repeatedly been told to stay in their flat and were preparing to try and escape through the window using a makeshift rope made from sheets when firefighters ran into her flat appearing “panicked and worried” and told them to leave.

And she said that at one point firefighters told her that her flat “was the safest on the floor because the other half of the building was on fire”, requesting that some neighbours be brought in to take refuge there.

Zainab Deen, her son Jeremiah, Denis Murphy and brothers Mohammad and Omar Alhajali were in Ms Oyewole’s flat when she left.

However, only Omar managed to escape the fire, while the others perished.

In her written statement to the inquiry, Ms Oyewole said: “I do not know why those people left in our flat did not follow us out. I do not know why they were not made to leave by the firefighters.

“It is a thought, a question, and a guilty feeling that will stay with me for the rest of my life. As we were the first out of the flat, I simply assumed that they would follow us out.

“Now I know that they did not, I will be asking myself the question why they died in my flat for the rest of my life.”

In her concluding remarks to the hearing today, she said: “I would also like to say that for anyone to say they do not regret what happened or would not change anything about what happened on that night – I know for a fact I wasn’t to blame, but I would definitely change certain things about that night if I could.

“I think it’s quite a slap in the face for anyone to say they wouldn’t change anything about what happened that night or they have no regrets about what happened that night.

“We lost beautiful, beautiful, beautiful people that night – innocent children, everyone that passed away that night was innocent and nobody deserved that – and if events had played out different then I might not be sitting here myself.”

She added: “The firemen that came back that night – on many occasions people came back – had many chances to see how many people were brought into our flat.

“People had the chance to see the state of the people that were brought into our flats, and for there not to be any precautions taken into place and the right equipment to come and get people out of our flat, I think if they did have the correct equipment I personally think that the people that passed away in our flat possibly wouldn’t have passed away.”

Ms Oyewole also detailed “issues with the way that Rydon staff would treat and speak to residents when they raised a query or a complaint”.

Rydon was the main contractor on the extensive 2016 refurbishment of Grenfell Tower.

Ms Oyewole said she had tried to resist plans to move the boiler in her flat from the kitchen to beside the front door for fear it could be a safety hazard.

However, she said she “relented” after receiving “threats” from Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation that resisting the change would constitute a tenancy breach.

In the afternoon, Richard Millett QC read into the record witness statements from other people directly affected by the fire, which are available on the inquiry website.

The inquiry continues.