Grenfell Tower survivor won’t stop fighting until he hears ‘clink of handcuffs on perpetrators’

By Alicia Curry, Local Democracy Reporter

A Grenfell Tower survivor has said he won’t stop fighting until he hears “the clink of handcuffs on the perpetrators” of the inferno that claimed the lives of 72 people.

Six years ago on Wednesday a fire broke out in the kitchen of a fourth-floor flat in the North Kensington high-rise.

Within minutes, the flames had engulfed the exterior of the building and by 3am, most of the upper floors were alight. Ed Daffarn, 60, escaped from the 16th floor of the block.

“I heard my neighbour’s smoke alarm going off and I didn’t think anything of it. Actually, I just thought he’s probably burnt some toast or whatever. And then like 10 minutes later on, I heard some shouting from the communal area outside my flat and that got me out of bed. 

“I went to open my front door, expecting to see my neighbour apologising and instead of that, I see this thick, acrid smoke and I just slammed the door closed.

“My heart sank and I was like ‘this is really serious’.” Edward was aware of the building’s ‘Stay Put’ policy and had planned to remain in his flat.

But moments later his friend from the fifth floor, who had already escaped, rang his phone. “He just shouted at me: ‘Get out.. get the f*** out now.’

“He said it so powerfully that I didn’t even argue with him. I went to my bathroom and got a wet towel and put it around me, went out into the communal hallway to try and make my way over to where the exit for the stairwell was. 

“Instead of finding the door, I found the wall next to the door. I started panicking and let the towel go and started inhaling the smoke. And then literally as I was like, you know, it was like that was it for me, a firefighter pulled me and got me out. 

 Tragically, Edwards’s neighbour, 69-year-old Joeseph Daniels didn’t make it out of the building.

But Edward described Grenfell as a tragedy of three parts: the pre-fire safety concerns being dismissed, the night itself and the “abandonment” of residents in the years that followed.

Edward, who used to work as a social worker, believes that the community’s frustrations are turning into anger as the fight for justice surpasses the sixth anniversary.

He explained: “I think we understood that things couldn’t change overnight, but they needed to change.  But we need justice, we need to hear the clink of handcuffs. We need the perpetrators [responsible for the issues that led to the fire] in court and in jail.

“We need people to pay a price for what happened. We can’t just have Grenfell happening and the world just continues as if nothing has happened.

“I lay the blame for that failure on the government’s incompetence and indifference that’s led to so little being delivered.”

With the details of Phase 2 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry not expected until 2024, Edward says that people can’t stop applying pressure for change. 

Leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council Cllr Elizabeth Campbell said: “Six years on, the Grenfell tragedy remains etched into the memories of people in our communities and Londoners right across the capital. The council’s commitment, and my own commitment, to survivors, the bereaved and local residents is unwavering.

“Our thoughts are always with the people who lost their lives, their loved ones and their homes and we continue to be inspired by the courage shown by the families in their search for justice, and for change.”

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesman said: “Our thoughts are with the bereaved families, survivors and residents as they remember those who lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower tragedy. 

“Building owners and developers must act quickly to fix any dangerous defects so residents can finally get on with their lives.

“We have been clear that those responsible must pay to end the crisis. All developers who have signed the developer remediation contract now have a legal duty to get on with remediation.”

Pictured top: Ed Daffarn, 60, escaped from the 16th floor of the block (Picture: Alicia Curry)