'I HID WITH KIDS AS TOWER BURNED. I LIVED,THEY DIED' Survivor's guilt over blaze escape.Byline: TOM PETTIFOR A SURVIVOR of the killer tower block inferno last night told of his guilt at escaping a tiny bathroom where five of his neighbours died. Rasheed Nuhu was at home in his 11th floor flat with his wife Fatima and their two daughters when the fire broke out. They gave shelter to Helen "To Helen" is the first of two poems to carry that name written by Edgar Allan Poe. The 15-line poem was written in honor of Jane Stanard, the mother of a childhood friend. It was first published in 1831 collection Poems of Edgar A. Udoaka, 34, and her baby girl Michelle. When Rasheed's flat filled with smoke, the group hid in the bathroom of his next-door neighbour Dayana Francisquini, with her son Felipe, three, and daughter Thais, six. His family managed to escape on to the balcony and were rescued, but the five others crammed into the room were killed - with Catherine Hickman, 31, who also lived on the 11th floor. Fighting back tears, 47-year-old Rasheed said: "It's almost indescribable, the trauma that has come out of all this. "Knowing the people we were in there together with died, we could have stayed in there. I did not go outside to try to get away, myself. "I went out to do something to be ready when the need arose, because of the fireball fireball, very bright meteor leaving a trail in the sky that can remain visible for several minutes; often a distinct sound, perhaps caused by very low frequency radio waves, is associated with it. I saw I had to do something. Obviously it's very traumatising and I'm still trying to come to terms with that." As the smoke and flames overcame the five victims, Rasheed was filmed screaming for help while clutching on to a makeshift rope of sheets as others urged him not to use it to escape. His family was led to safety after 90 minutes. But he said he was angry more was not done by the emergency services emergency services Emergency care '…services …necessary to prevent death or serious impairment of health and, because of the danger to life or health, require the use of the most accessible hospital available and equipped to furnish those services' to rescue those trapped. Rasheed told Channel 4 News: "I was expecting things like a helicopter to come and drop a ladder or a commando-type rescuer, but there was nothing like that. The fire brigade ladder couldn't even reach us. That's when I thought it was the end." But London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the statutory fire and rescue service for London, England. It is run by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and is the third-largest fire service in the world with nearly 7000 staff of which 5800 are operational firefighters and Assistant Commissioner Nick Collins insisted firefighters were at the scene within five minutes of the first call and started tackling the fire "immediately". Eno Udoaka, a cousin of victim Helen's husband Mbet, told how he was on the phone to her moments before she died in the blaze at Lakanal House in Camberwell, South London South London (known colloquially as South of the River) is the area of London south of the River Thames. Some neighbourhoods north of the Thames have South London postal codes (SW), but these neighbourhoods are classified as West or Central London. . He listened to her desperate cries for help as she panicked and struggled to breathe in the choking smoke. Eno said: "She was coughing and spluttering a lot. She went very quiet, only mumbling a few words. The line went dead and I knew she had gone." Catherine's boyfriend Mark Bailey revealed he was planning to propose to her when he returned from a trip to America. The distraught hair stylist said: "I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I know she loved me." Residents of neighbouring Marie Curie Curie (kürē`), family of French scientists. Pierre Curie, 1859–1906, scientist, and his wife, Marie Sklodowska Curie, 1867–1934, chemist and physicist, b. House, an identical block of flats to the death tower, spoke of their fears they could be victims of a similar disaster. They revealed neither building has a central fire alarm or sprinkler system. Each of the two-storey flats has a fire exit which leads to a single stairwell stair·well n. A vertical shaft around which a staircase has been built. stairwell Noun a vertical shaft in a building that contains a staircase Noun 1. in the middle of the building. Some of the fire doors are said to have been jammed shut. Mum-of-two Irache Garcia, 28, said: "I can't stop thinking that it could have been us and that it could happen at any time. "I just want out. This building is exactly the same and if a fire broke out everyone above would be stuck like they were." As tributes to the victims piled up outside the block, forensic officers yesterday combed the flat where the fire is said to have started for clues. An investigation has begun into what caused the blaze, but fire chiefs said it may be some weeks until that is known. Voice of the Mirror: Page 10 CAPTION(S): HEARTFELT Tributes left outside the flats and, left, blaze victim Catherine Hickman TRAGIC Thais and her little brother Felipe died in blaze SURVIVOR Rasheed DEATH TRAP Smoke billows from fire block |
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