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Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
'I just remember stepping over so many bodies': Harrowing moment daughter and her desperate family battle to escape Grenfell blaze is relived in new Netflix documentary
A family who lived in Grenfell Tower have detailed the harrowing moment they battled to escape the deadly inferno in Netflix 's new documentary on the tragedy that shook London. Marcio Gomes, his wife Andreia and their two daughters, Luana and Megan had lived in flat 183 on the 21st floor of Grenfell in North Kensington for 10 years. Andreia was seven months pregnant with their son Logan when the fire broke out on June 14, 2017. The entire family managed to escape the burning 24-floor building, but later in hospital doctors were forced to let Andreia's unborn baby die in order to save her life. In the streaming giants documentary Grenfell: Uncovered, released today, Marcio, now 46, and his eldest daughter Luana detailed the family's desperate escape and the moment they were told Logan would never be born. Perhaps one of the most disturbing recollections of their struggle to get to safety came from Luana, who was just 12 at the time. Speaking about the frantic moments in the smoke-filled stairwell with tears streaming down her face, the clearly traumatised 20-year-old said: 'I just remember stepping on so many bodies.' As charting songs of the time played, glassy-eyed Luana was transported back to the days leading up to the fatal event which changed their lives forever. She remembered her excitement about going into year eight as summer time began. 'I would definitely say I was very bubbly, I was very happy. I always wanted to do good in my grades. I was a good, happy 12-year-old,' she said with a vacant look in her eyes. Luana and her father recalled going out for a family dinner that night before the chaos unfolded. After getting home at around 11.30pm - just 80 minutes before the fire broke out - Marcio played and few games on his X-Box and then headed off to bed as he had work the next day. But he and his family were woken up at 1.15am by a neighbour banging on the door to alert him of the flames which were ripping through the tower block - ultimately saving them from being burnt to death in their sleep. Luana, who sobbed throughout the entire documentary, said: 'Everything was in a rush. We covered ourselves with the blanket that my dad had put in the bathtub, and I grabbed my dog and we just dashed it for the stairwell.' Haunting recordings of Marcio on the phone to a 999 call handler are played, with the desperate father heard shouting: 'Right, lets go girls. Go, go, go. Go through, go down. Let's go now! Keep going.' Speaking to the camera, he described the 'horrific' conditions in the stairwell, which left him 'coughing and gagging a lot'. The family were woken up at 1.15am by a neighbour banging on the door to alert him of the flames which were ripping through the tower block 'I didn't have any idea where they [his family] were. My expectation was they're in front of me,' he said, as recordings of the call handlers telling him firefighters were on the way up to rescue them echoed in the background. However, Luana recalled hearing her father's voice behind her, encouraging her to 'keep going' as she felt the bodies of her neighbours beneath her feet. 'And then it got to a point where I couldn't hear my dad anymore behind me. He sounded like he was, like, far in front of me, like, down the stairwell,' she said. Marcio remembered the terrifying moment he heard Luana scream 'Dad!' and it dawned on him that his girls were in fact behind him further up the stairs. Weeping Luana said: 'I just remember saying "I can't do it anymore", like, I can't carry on. And I remember placing my dog down on the stairwell because I couldn't cope.' That was her last memory inside the burning building before 'everything went pitch black' and she collapsed. More heart-wrenching 999 recordings play of Marcio pleading to go and look for his family, to which the call handler replied: 'You need to go back upstairs and get your girls.' The panicked father can then be heard desperately shouting in between smog-induced coughs and tears: 'Hold the rails, keep coming Luana! Megan, Luana, come on. Come on come on...' It was then he realised his eldest child had passed out from the heavy fumes and smoke inhalation. When he looked between the rails of the stairwell, he could see a 'very faint light'. 'I kind of thought "God, that must be a firefighter". I quickly ran down, and I shouted, I said "My daughter's upstairs",' he said as 999 recordings run of him telling the handler: 'I need to go up and get her. I've got to get her out.' When he tried to go back up the stairs to save them, another firefighter grabbed him from behind and ordered him to keep going down so he could get out. His voice broke as he continued: 'I saw Luana being carried out, but I didn't know where my wife was, I didn't know where Megan was.' Safely outside the blazing building, Marcio found Helen Gebremeskel and her daughter Lulya, who lived on the same floor, and they handed him over to the police. Officers told the worried father they couldn't promise anything, but informed him they were aware his pregnant wife and youngest daughter were still in the building. But firefighters had actually already brought them both to safety, which Marcio somehow all of a sudden knew in his gut. The Grenfell Tower residential building is seen on fire and engulfed in plumed of black smoke on June 14, 2017 He explained how he sighed with relief before he even saw her, before turning around to see Andreia and 10-year-old Megan sitting by a tree. The heavily pregnant and distraught wife asked her husband where their other daughter was. 'Of course, I knew where Luana was,' he said, 'She was to our side. They were resuscitating her.' Thankfully, paramedics put the family in one ambulance all together to get Luana to hospital. 'Next thing I know, I woke up and I was in the ambulance and I was the only one on the bed,' said Luana of her first memory on the outside. Selflessly, all the 12-year-old could think about when she first woke up was her mother and unborn brother. 'I just kept thinking, "Why am I on this bed?", like, "I'm not the priority here. If anyone's the priority, it's my mum", because obviously she was pregnant at the time. And then I just fell back asleep again.' Yet, it wasn't until the family reached King's College Hospital that they realised their heartbreaking plight was far from over. Struggling to get his words out, Marcio recalled the minute doctors came and said they needed to speak to him. 'They said they were going to need to make a call between Andreia and the baby. 'They said "In these circumstances we take the mother's side", and I said "Yeah, I understand that's what you need to do".' He paused, bit his bottom lip and cast his eyes down: 'That's when they said Logan had passed away.' The grieving teary-eyed father added: '72 people died, 18 of them were children, including my son, who was the youngest victim. They were all robbed of whatever they could have become.'
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Grenfell survivor breaks down in tears recounting agonising moment medics were forced to choose between saving the life of his wife or child - as Cat Deeley steps in to comfort him on This Morning
A Grenfell survivor broke down in tears on This Morning as he recounted the agonising moment medics were forced to choose between saving the life of his wife or unborn child. Marcio Gomes featured on Wednesday's instalment of the ITV show and sat down with journalist Peter Apps and presenters Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard in an emotional interview. The grieving father lived on the 21st floor of Grenfell Tower with his wife, who was seven months pregnant, and two daughters. A fire broke out in the tower block on June 14, 2017 and spread throughout the building, leading to the loss of 72 lives. Following the eight year anniversary of the tragic night, Marcio recalled what happened to his family and how his unborn son, Logan, sadly passed away as a result of the fire. 'I was woken at 1.15am in the morning with the neighbour banging on the door which I'm forever grateful because if it wasn't for that, we would've been sleeping,' Marcio recalled. The grieving father lived on the 21st floor of Grenfell Tower with his wife, who was seven months pregnant, and two daughters Cat explained how 'the fire brigade were told the 'stay put' rule, which is essentially you stay there for 2 hours'. Marcio's family began preparing wet towels but eventually realised they needed to leave the flat and go against the fire brigade's advice. 'Probably about an hour into it I would say when I really understood how bad it was, we'd had fires in the tower before, not generally a problem,' he said. 'Of course that night it was very different,' he added. An hour into it when I tried to go into my neighbours house and I opened the door it was pitch black, the lights were on but it was pitch black. He described the 'really thick' smoke and added: 'It was awful, it was something I've never experienced before... as soon as you breathed that in you was just gagging, it was a horrific smell, it was something I can never really describe that well. 'That's when I knew it was really bad.' After multiple calls to the fire brigade, the family and neighbour decided they would have to try and make their own way down. They attempted to leave the flat twice but Marcio described the moment that made them realise they had to go. 'As I looked into the bedroom, fire came through the window and set basically the room alight. At that point I said we've got to go, it's now or never, we couldn't stay in the flat,' he said. Cat looked emotional and she said: 'There was so much confusion at the time, you couldn't see anything, you were supposed to be behind the girls and you were taking them down and then you kind of lost them within the smoke. 'When you finally get to the bottom of the tower, you see each other again, you get taken into an ambulance but your wife, who is seven months pregnant and asthmatic, they have to make a terrible decision.' Marcio broke down into tears as he replied: 'At the hospital, they came to me and said they and to make that decision because my wife was obviously alive, they had to go with her, which I said, yes, that's the choice.' Cat leant forward to comfort Marcio and kindly pat his knee as she looked tearful too. The blaze, which was the worst in Britain for more than a generation, was accelerated by deadly combustible cladding and many of those who died had been told to stay in their flats. It resulted in the deaths of 72 men, women and children, including multiple generations of the same families, living in the 120-apartment tower, built in Kensington - one of London's richest areas. The fire triggered mass protests about building standards, following months of concerns from Grenfell Tower residents about safety following its refurbishment. The final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, published in September, concluded the disaster was the result of 'decades of failure' by government and the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings. Ben read out a statement from The London Fire Brigade commission which said: 'On the night of the fire, the brigade faced the most formidable challenge that any fire service in the UK has confronted in living memory. 'In 2019 the brigade accepted every recommendation from the Grenfell Tower enquiry phase one report and have since implemented significant changes to how we operate.' Ben then went on to read a statement from Arconic which said: 'Our thoughts remain with all those affected and their families and friends. 'Arconic architectural products along with others has made financial contributions to settlements for those impacted, we support all efforts to strengthen the regulatory oversight in the construction industry.' Earlier this year, Angela Rayner revealed the apartment tower would be dismantled after concerns over damage, but this has been hit with backlash. Ben also read a statement from the Government's Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government and said: 'We will deliver the change needed so this can never happen again by taking decisive actions to speed up the mediation through the remediation acceleration plan and deliver the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower enquiry.' This Morning airs weekdays on ITV1 from 10am and is available to stream on ITVX.
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Bereaved father says Grenfell documentary must mark turning point in justice fight
Bereaved father says Grenfell documentary must mark turning point in justice fight Marcio Gomes, whose son Logan was stillborn after the 2017 disaster, said he hoped audiences might be prompted to "start shouting" about a disaster which "should matter to every single person". (Image: NETFLIX ) A new documentary into the Grenfell fire setting out the failings which led to the fatal blaze must mark a "turning point" in the fight for justice, a grieving father featured in it has said. Marcio Gomes, whose son Logan was stillborn after the 2017 disaster, said he hoped audiences might be prompted to "start shouting" about a disaster which "should matter to every single person". Grenfell: Uncovered, on Netflix from June 20, follows the final report of the inquiry into the fire which concluded each of the 72 deaths was avoidable and had been preceded by "decades of failure" by government and the building industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings. Bereaved and survivors were "badly failed" through incompetence, dishonesty and greed and the west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the "systematic dishonesty" of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said last year. Sir Martin called out "deliberate and sustained" manipulation of fire safety testing, misrepresentation of test data and misleading of the market. Mr Gomes, who said he lives with the devastating consequences of the fire every day, said the documentary sets out the failures of various organisations in the years leading up to the fire. Article continues below In an interview with the PA news agency ahead of the documentary's release, he said: "Ultimately, I'm hoping that people understand that this was no accident. This was very much avoidable, and these companies had a huge role to play in what happened. "And I think people, especially in Britain – but this is a global thing, it's not just in the UK – need to start shouting about these companies, need to hold them to account. "Because these companies have a duty of care but they've ignored it completely. "And I'm hoping that this documentary is a turning point that will then bring prosecutions and justice to the families." A number of companies are referred to in the documentary. The inquiry report saw cladding firm Arconic and insulation firms Kingspan and Celotex come in for particularly heavy criticism. Arconic was found to have "deliberately concealed from the market the true extent of the danger" of using its cladding product, particularly on high-rise buildings. Kingspan had, from 2005 and even after the inquiry began, "knowingly created a false market in insulation" for use on buildings over 18 metres, the report said. Celotex then, in an attempt to break into this market created by Kingspan, "embarked on a dishonest scheme to mislead its customers and the wider market", Sir Martin concluded. The Cabinet Office confirmed in February that seven companies were facing possible bans – Arconic, Kingspan, former Celotex owners Saint-Gobain, fire inspectors Exova, design and build contractor Rydon, architect Studio E and subcontractor Harley Facades. Investigations were launched by the Government in March, assessing whether any engaged in professional misconduct for the purposes of the Procurement Act 2023, potentially leading them to be debarred from public contracts. Mr Gomes said he hoped the 100-minute documentary would see people back the bereaved and survivors' fight for justice, as it sets out how firms were "prioritising profits ahead of people's lives". He said: "Eight years on, we've had no prosecutions. And justice can't continue to wait, in my opinion, and if you live in Britain, as we do, this should matter to every single person. "Knowing that these companies that greatly contributed to something that was avoidable, as the inquiry said, are still making record profits and still working globally is appalling, in my view. "So seeing this and then comparing to how my life is, and comparing to how many people's lives have been destroyed, in many ways, is horrific." Mr Gomes said he hoped viewers might be moved to take some kind of action, from writing to their MPs to spreading the word on social media. He said: "I think if they can do whatever's in their power, and if that's writing a letter to the MPs about getting justice or removing the cladding (on other buildings), then that's what I'd love to see. "It's whatever people can do – avoid their products, get the message out there. These companies need to feel some pain and that's not even close to what we've gone through." Bereaved and survivors gathered at the weekend to mark the eighth anniversary of the fire, which took place on June 14 2017. Demolition work on the tower could begin in September, with the decision to remove the building met with criticism from some of the bereaved and survivors, who felt their views had not been considered. Responding to the inquiry report last year, Arconic said it was its subsidiary, Arconic Architectural Products SAS (AAP), which had supplied the material used for cladding in the tower's refurbishment, and that it rejects "any claim that AAP sold an unsafe product" and that it "did not conceal information from or mislead any certification body, customer, or the public". Article continues below Kingspan said it had "long acknowledged the wholly unacceptable historical failings that occurred in part of our UK insulation business" but said these were "in no way reflective of how we conduct ourselves as a group, then or now", while Celotex said it had "reviewed and improved process controls, quality management and the approach to marketing within the Celotex business to meet industry best practice".
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Dad who lost unborn baby & ‘climbed over bones' to escape Grenfell slams cladding firm as ‘smoking gun' emails uncovered
AS the survivors of the Grenfell tower fire walked silently through London on Saturday, the desire for justice for the 72 dead had not dimmed. When a Advertisement 10 Grenfell survivor Marcio Gomes speaks out in a new Netflix documentary Credit: netflix 10 Hero dad Marcio battled the blaze to save his pregnant wife and two daughters Credit: Enterprise News and Pictures 10 Police man a security cordon as a huge fire engulfs the Grenfell Tower early on June 14, 2017 Credit: AFP 10 Firefighters extinguish the last of the horrific blaze that claimed 72 lives Credit: AFP or licensors Eight years on from the fire, which Grenfell inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick called 'avoidable', no one has been charged with a criminal offence. Who knew what about the risk of installing flammable cladding on the 1970s 24-storey concrete block in Even now secrets are emerging. The makers of new Netflix documentary Advertisement READ MORE IN GRENFELL The internal emails are reported to reveal that Diana Perreiah, a top executive at US manufacturing firm Arconic, was aware that its highly flammable cladding should not be put on tall buildings and that it had been sold for use on the west London tower. Eddie Daffarn, a survivor of the Grenfell Tower fire, told The search for truth was important for the film's director Olaide Sadiq because her friend Khadija Saye was killed on the 20th floor of the tower. They were both 24 at the time of the blaze on June 14, 2017 and had met on a scheme to support creative talents from less well off backgrounds. Advertisement Most read in Film Exclusive Exclusive Olaide, who grew up in a 18-storey council estate tower in south London, tells The Sun: 'Khadijah was very, very bright, very, very sweet, very, very driven and she was someone who was really breaking down barriers in her field. 'I think she's an example of a lot of the lives that were lost and a lot of people had very promising careers ahead of them, promising paths ahead of them that they never got to fulfil.' Grenfell survivor relives the trauma of fleeing the fire Khadijah, whose mum Mary Mendy, 54, also died in the uncontrollable blaze, had her art work exhibited at the prestigious Venice Biennale in Italy just prior to her death. But Olaide insists the documentary 'isn't about me' and instead her film focuses on other residents of the tower. Advertisement Baby tragedy Grenfell Uncovered, which streams from Friday, hears from Marcio Gomes, whose son Logan was stillborn after wife Andreia was put in a coma, having been overcome by smoke. Marcio had wrapped his family in wet towels to help them make their way down the stairwell from the 21st floor, having been told to 'stay put' by the Fire Brigade even when the fire was spreading up the building. Having escaped out with his wife and daughter Megan, he went back for his other daughter, Luana, who had collapsed on the stairwell in the toxic smoke. They couldn't see anything and Luana recalls: 'I just remember stepping on so many bones. My dad is more behind me. He sounded like he was in front of me. Advertisement 'I didn't hear him speak or say anything back to me. All that I can't remember, because apparently I had collapsed.' 10 The Grenfell Silent Walk around West Kensington on Saturday Credit: Alamy 10 Firefighters from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) form a guard of honour under the Westway flyover at the march Credit: Alamy Speaking ahead of the documentary's release, Marcio said: "Ultimately, I'm hoping that people understand that this was no accident. This was very much avoidable, and these companies had a huge role to play in what happened. Advertisement 'And I think people, especially in Britain – but this is a global thing, it's not just in the UK – need to start shouting about these companies, need to hold them to account. 'Because these companies have a duty of care but they've ignored it completely. 'And I'm hoping that this documentary is a turning point that will then bring prosecutions and justice to the families.' He added of the firms: "Avoid their products, get the message out there. These companies need to feel some pain and that's not even close to what we've gone through." Advertisement 'I'm dying, I'm dying here' 10 Omar Alhaj Ali was rescued but his brother Mohammad didn't make it out Credit: netflix The film also hears the testimony of Omar Alhaj Ali, 33, who was rescued by firefighters from the 14th floor only to discover his brother Mohammad had been left behind. He rang his brother to see what had happened. Omar says: 'My brother is screaming. The last conversation we had was like, 'I'm dying, I'm dying here, that's it.' ' Advertisement A desperate Mohammad, 23, attempted to escape the flame by climbing down sheets that he had tied together, but the civil engineering student fell to his death. 10 10 Chris Batchelor emotionally recalls his attempts to rescue a mum who died in the fire Firemen who fought their way up the deadly block to find survivors give similarly emotional accounts of the evening. Advertisement Chris Batchelor is clearly upset as he recalls how he spoke to Zainab Deen, 32, on the 14th floor, telling her: 'We are coming to get you.' But the firefighter was told by his superiors that it was impossible to get back up the building. Zainab told him her two-year-old son Jeremiah had died from the smoke and 'I want to be with him.' Chris says: 'I am still telling her we are coming to get you. I thought I heard her scream.' Advertisement 'The emails were shocking' It is for the 72 victims that the quest for answers goes on. Olaide has followed the Grenfell case since seeing the inferno on the news and learning that Khadija had been trapped inside. She spent 18 months working on the documentary, speaking to relatives, survivors, experts and poring through documents. Several different firms were involved in the refurbishment of Grenfell, which was completed in May 2016. Advertisement The Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) used to clad the building had a highly flammable material called polyethylene sandwiched between sheets of aluminium. Olaide and her team wanted to dig further into what the French-based firm Arconic Architectural Products knew about the risks of their product Reynobond PE. Arconic Architectural Products is a subsidiary of the US firm Arconic, so the Netflix team employed lawyers to argue that seeing everything was in the public interest. Olaide says: 'When you start looking into the cladding, you start to uncover an email here or a warning there. The emails were shocking.' Advertisement In his summing up, retired judge Sir Martin said that Arconic had "deliberately concealed from the market the true extent of the danger of using" Reynobond PE on a tower like Grenfell. But Arconic, which has paid compensation to bereaved relatives, insists there was no wrongdoing on their behalf. The company has said they "did not conceal information from or mislead any certification body, customer, or the public" and did not sell an "unsafe product.' Sir Martin said there was no one cause of the disaster. Advertisement 10 All of the tragic 72 victims of Grenfell Credit: PA 'Stay put' order Grenfell Uncovered also looks at the failing of the London Fire Brigade, which stuck to its 'stay put' policy for too long on the fateful night. Residents were told to stay in their flats, because it was assumed the blaze could not spread so quickly from flat to flat. It also shows how David Cameron's Conservative government failed to bring in tighter housing safety regulations, despite being advised to after a similar fire at Lakanal House in Camberwell, south London in 2009. Advertisement Labour has promised to implement the 58 recommendations from Sir Martin's inquiry. But the 'stay put' policy remains in place for most high rise buildings and thousands of flats in Britain are still covered in unsafe cladding. Eddie Daffarn, 62, a resident who warned there would be a 'serious fire' at Grenfell six months before the disaster, ends the film saying: 'So much time has passed but so little has changed.' Many survivors now want a jury to decide if anyone committed a criminal offence. Advertisement At the moment the Metropolitan police is still investigating. Olaide concludes: 'There's definitely a very palpable upset and rawness that still exists in the community. 'People are definitely still angry, people are definitely still seeking justice and accountability for what they went through and what their loved ones went through.' The final death toll Fathia Ahmed Elsanousi, Abufras Ibrahim and Isra Ibrahim (floor 23) Mohammed Amied Neda (floor 23) Hesham Rahman (floor 23) Rania Ibrahim and her two children Fethia Hassan, four, and three-year-old Hania Hassan (floor 23) Marco Gottardi (floor 23) Gloria Trevisan (floor 23) Raymond 'Moses' Bernard (floor 23) Eslah and Mariem Elgwahry (floor 22) Anthony Disson (floor 22) Choucair family (floor 22) Nadia Choucair, 33, her husband Bassem Choukair, 40, their three children Mierna, 13, Fatima, 11, and Zainab, three, died along with their grandmother Sirria Choucair, 60. The Kedir family (floor 22) Hashim Kedir, 44, died with his wife Nura Jemal, 35, daughter Firdaws Hashim, 12, and sons Yahya Hashim, 13, and Yaqub Hashim, six. The El-Wahabi family (floor 21) Father Abdulaziz, 52, wife Faouzia, 41, and children Yasin, 20, Nur Huda, 16, and Mehdi, eight, all died. Ligaya Moore (floor 21) Jessica Urbano Ramirez (floor 20) The Belkadi family (floor 20) Farah Hamdan, 31, her husband Omar Belkadi, 32, and children Malak Belkadi, eight, and six-month-old Leena Belkadi, all died. Mary Mendy (floor 20) Khadija Saye (floor 20) Victoria King and Alexandra Atala (floor 20) Tuccu-Ahmedin family (floor 19) Mohamednur Tuccu, 44, his wife Amal Ahmedin, 35, and their three-year-old daughter Amaya Tuccu-Ahmedin, all died. Amna Mahmud Idris, 27, was visiting her cousin Ms Ahmedin at the time of the fire and also died. Marjorie Vital and Ernie Vital (floor 19) Debbie Lamprell (floor 19) Gary Maunders (floor 19) Berkti Haftom and Biruk Haftom (floor 18) Hamid Kani (floor 18) Isaac Paulos (floor 18) Sakina Afrasehabi (floor 18) Fatemeh Afrasiabi (visiting her sister on 18th floor) Vincent Chiejina (floor 17) Khadija Khalloufi (floor 17) Miah-Begum family (floor 17) Kamru Miah, 79, Rabeya Begum, 64, Mohammed Hamid, 28, Mohammed Hanif, 26 and Husna Begum, 22. Joseph Daniels (floor 16) Sheila (floor 16) Steve Power (floor 15) Zainab Deen and Jeremiah Deen (floor 14) Mohammad al-Haj Ali (floor 14) Denis Murphy (floor 14) Ali Yawar Jafari (floor 11) Abdeslam Sebbar (floor 11) Logan Gomes (floor 21) Maria del Pilar Burton (floor 19) A spokesperson for Arconic Architectural Products said: "We have not seen the Netflix documentary 'Grenfell: Uncovered' and cannot comment in detail on it. Advertisement "So soon after the solemn anniversary of the Grenfell tragedy, our thoughts remain with all those affected, their families and friends. "Foremost we continue to remember the 72 people who lost their lives. AAP, along with others, has made financial contributions to settlements for those impacted, and we support all efforts to strengthen regulatory oversight in the construction industry."
The Independent
5 days ago
- The Independent
Bereaved father: Grenfell documentary must mark turning point in justice fight
A new documentary into the Grenfell fire setting out the failings which led to the fatal blaze must mark a 'turning point' in the fight for justice, a grieving father featured in it has said. Marcio Gomes, whose son Logan was stillborn after the 2017 disaster, said he hoped audiences might be prompted to 'start shouting' about a disaster which 'should matter to every single person'. Grenfell: Uncovered, on Netflix from June 20, follows the final report of the inquiry into the fire which concluded each of the 72 deaths was avoidable and had been preceded by 'decades of failure' by government and the building industry to act on the dangers of flammable materials on high-rise buildings. Bereaved and survivors were 'badly failed' through incompetence, dishonesty and greed and the west London tower block was covered in combustible products because of the 'systematic dishonesty' of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said last year. Sir Martin called out 'deliberate and sustained' manipulation of fire safety testing, misrepresentation of test data and misleading of the market. Mr Gomes, who said he lives with the devastating consequences of the fire every day, said the documentary sets out the failures of various organisations in the years leading up to the fire. In an interview with the PA news agency ahead of the documentary's release, he said: 'Ultimately, I'm hoping that people understand that this was no accident. This was very much avoidable, and these companies had a huge role to play in what happened. 'And I think people, especially in Britain – but this is a global thing, it's not just in the UK – need to start shouting about these companies, need to hold them to account. 'Because these companies have a duty of care but they've ignored it completely. 'And I'm hoping that this documentary is a turning point that will then bring prosecutions and justice to the families.' A number of companies are referred to in the documentary. The inquiry report saw cladding firm Arconic and insulation firms Kingspan and Celotex come in for particularly heavy criticism. Arconic was found to have 'deliberately concealed from the market the true extent of the danger' of using its cladding product, particularly on high-rise buildings. Kingspan had, from 2005 and even after the inquiry began, 'knowingly created a false market in insulation' for use on buildings over 18 metres, the report said. Celotex then, in an attempt to break into this market created by Kingspan, 'embarked on a dishonest scheme to mislead its customers and the wider market', Sir Martin concluded. The Cabinet Office confirmed in February that seven companies were facing possible bans – Arconic, Kingspan, former Celotex owners Saint-Gobain, fire inspectors Exova, design and build contractor Rydon, architect Studio E and subcontractor Harley Facades. Investigations were launched by the Government in March, assessing whether any engaged in professional misconduct for the purposes of the Procurement Act 2023, potentially leading them to be debarred from public contracts. Mr Gomes said he hoped the 100-minute documentary would see people back the bereaved and survivors' fight for justice, as it sets out how firms were 'prioritising profits ahead of people's lives'. He said: 'Eight years on, we've had no prosecutions. And justice can't continue to wait, in my opinion, and if you live in Britain, as we do, this should matter to every single person. 'Knowing that these companies that greatly contributed to something that was avoidable, as the inquiry said, are still making record profits and still working globally is appalling, in my view. 'So seeing this and then comparing to how my life is, and comparing to how many people's lives have been destroyed, in many ways, is horrific.' Mr Gomes said he hoped viewers might be moved to take some kind of action, from writing to their MPs to spreading the word on social media. He said: 'I think if they can do whatever's in their power, and if that's writing a letter to the MPs about getting justice or removing the cladding (on other buildings), then that's what I'd love to see. 'It's whatever people can do – avoid their products, get the message out there. These companies need to feel some pain and that's not even close to what we've gone through.' Bereaved and survivors gathered at the weekend to mark the eighth anniversary of the fire, which took place on June 14 2017. Demolition work on the tower could begin in September, with the decision to remove the building met with criticism from some of the bereaved and survivors, who felt their views had not been considered. Responding to the inquiry report last year, Arconic said it was its subsidiary, Arconic Architectural Products SAS (AAP), which had supplied the material used for cladding in the tower's refurbishment, and that it rejects 'any claim that AAP sold an unsafe product' and that it 'did not conceal information from or mislead any certification body, customer, or the public'. Kingspan said it had 'long acknowledged the wholly unacceptable historical failings that occurred in part of our UK insulation business' but said these were 'in no way reflective of how we conduct ourselves as a group, then or now', while Celotex said it had 'reviewed and improved process controls, quality management and the approach to marketing within the Celotex business to meet industry best practice'.
