Witness Statement of: Ethiopia Assefa No. of statement: Exhibits: Date of statement: 08/06/18

GRENFELL TOWER PUBLIC INQUIRY

WITNESS STATEMENT OF ETHIOPIA ASSEFA

I,ETHIOPIA ASSEFA, will say as follows:

1. This statement is my account of events that took place on 14 June 2017. This statement is for the purposes of Phase 1 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. I wish to make a further statement as part of Phase 2 of the Inquiry.

Background

2. My date of birth is 1961. Before the fire, I was working as a chef at Harrods in Knightsbridge.

3. I used to be a resident of Grenfell Tower until 2014, which is when I moved out. I lived in Flat 195 on the 21st floor of Grenfell Tower. I lived in the Tower for around 20 years. I lived there with my husband, who passed away in 2016, and my son, Gabriel Assefa My husband was a leaseholder and he bought the flat. My husband and I sold the flat in 2014 and we moved into where I live now.

4. I moved out of the Tower before the refurbishments took place so I am not familiar with the changes which were made to the building as other residents will be. I was living in Grenfell Tower when they built the Academy, as I was part of the campaign against it. When I lived in Flat 195 on the 21q floor, there

1 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0001 were six flats on this floor. There was a door to the stairwell on each floor and two lifts, also a door to the rubbish chute.

5. I did use to visit a friend in Flat 94 of Grenfell Tower every Tuesday, which is why I was in the Tower on the night of the fire. When I lived in Grenfell Tower, my husband and I set up a bible study group which other residents would attend. When I moved out of my flat, my good friend Alemishet Demmissie (who I call Alam)took over the bible study group and hosted it at her home. Alam lived in Flat 94.

6. There is more I can say about what it was like living in Grenfell Tower and the relationship with the TMO, but I understand that this will be the focus of Phase 2. I would also like to describe what I knew about fire safety in the building before I moved out of the Tower in a further statement I will make as part of Phase 2.

Flat 94

7. I believe that Flat 94 was West facing. If you looked out of the windows in the living room then you could see Latimer Road underground station..

13 June

8. On the day of the fire, I had been to work at Harrods which is in Knightsbridge. I finished work at around 7pm.

9. Even after I moved out of the Tower, I would still attend bible study group every Tuesday at Alam's home. I would usually stay over at hers with her afterwards. because my house is far away and I am very close friends with Alam. I have known her for years and she is like a sister to me. I normally slept on the sofa in her living room.

10. The 13 June was a Tuesday evening and so I went to Alam's home at Grenfell Tower for the bible study group. I got the bus from work to her home. When I arrived, there were people outside the main entrance of the Tower going

2 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0002 inside, so I didn't need to press the intercom to get into the Tower. I walked straight in through the main entrance with them. I took the lift up to the 12th floor and I knocked on Alam's door. No one answered the door so I assumed they had already started praying. I tried to call Alam but she didn't answer her phone. I thought I might have to go home at this point as no one was answering the door.

11. I waited outside her front door for about half an hour. I gave up waiting and I took the lift back downstairs and exited the Tower through the main. I then saw a man with shopping bags entering the Tower again. I decided to knock on her door one last time so I went back into the Tower with this man. I got the lift up to the 12th floor. When I knocked on her front door, Alam then answered. We hugged each other and then we started the prayer group.

12. There were others who attended the bible study group that evening wand they all lived in the Tower. After the bible study, we drank tea and coffee together. Everyone left Alam's flat at around 22:00'

13. I said goodnight to Alam at around 22:30. She went into her bedroom and I lay on the sofa in the living room reading my book before I fell asleep. I think it was around 1 1pm when I fell asleep.

14 June

14. I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night. I didn't know what time it was when I woke up. I could hear Alam in the corridor saying 'yes I will pray. I will pray.' I think this is what woke me up. At the same time, I heard a glass window break and could hear a lot of noise coming from outside. It sounded like glass smashing outside

15.1 was half asleep at this point. I said to Alam 'what's happened to this place? It is usually so quiet around here.' She opened the door to the living room. I asked her 'is someone drinking? I can hear a lot of shouting and smashing'. She told me 'there is a fire in the building.' She told me that her friend had

Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0003 called her on the phone to tell her that there was a fire in the Tower. I could sense panic in her voice. I don't know what time this was but I believe that this would have been at around lam.

16. I did feel anxious at this point but I tried to stay calm. I didn't know how bad the fire was but I thought it would be contained as there had been a fire before in another tower block in West London fairly recently and it was contained so I wasn't too worried at this point about the fire spreading. I couldn't see any sign of a fire at this point. I couldn't hear any alarms going off in the building and I couldn't smell any smoke.

17. I think I then looked out of the living room window and I could see firefighters below and I could see other people running around at the bottom of the Tower. I could see smoke outside which I think was coming from the flats below. I said to Alam 'Let's just get dressed and leave.'

18. I changed out of the pyjamas I was wearing into a long sleeved top and trousers. I got my bag, and put on my coat and scarf. In my head, I had decided that once I left the flat, I wouldn't come back. I would just go and sit in a coffee shop before I went to work. [told Alam to take her keys to the flat as I thought she would only be waiting outside for a short while before she could go back into the flat.

19. Alam went to the front door to the flat to leave and I was stood behind her. When she opened the front door, heavy, thick, black smoke suddenly entered the flat. It came pouring in. I froze. I felt hot smoke on my face. It was pitch black in the communal landing. I couldn't see anything or hear anyone in the landing. I couldn't see a thing outside of the flat.

20. I was completely and utterly shocked. I just couldn't understand how this had happened. I was terrified. There were no fire alarms going off still. This was the moment I realised how serious the fire was. I thought to myself that we were trapped and we wouldn't be able to get out.

4 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0004 21. Alam quickly closed the front door to stop the smoke. We looked at each other in horror. I was speechless. I didn't know what to say. After a few minutes, I said to her 'I am sorry Alam. We can't try and get out. There is too much smoke. We can't see anything. If we can get help from the firefighters then we can get out but otherwise we can't leave.'

22. 1 was absolutely petrified. I had this sudden realisation that we were both going to die. I tried to stay calm but I couldn't and neither of us knew what to do. I remember trying to think of ways that we could get out of the Tower. I thought about her holding on to me and walking down the stairwell but we would be walking down blindly because of the thickness of the smoke. I decided that this was not a good idea as I thought we would just pass out from the smoke. The smoke was so hot and thick. I said to Alam 'we are not leaving.'

23. We walked to the living room and shut the living room door. This is because the living room was the furthest away from the front door and we wanted to get away from the smoke.

24. We both sat on the sofa and started to pray. I was praying that someone would come and save us. In the middle of praying, I started to worry about my son Gabriel, who would be so distraught if I died. He had already lost his dad and I believed that he was now going to lose his mum too. I wanted to call my son to say goodbye. I took my phone out of my bag to call my son, however, I started to worry and just stared at my phone, contemplating whether to call him or not. I thought if I called him he would be so scared and I would just cause him to panic. He had already been through so much with his father passing away and I didn't want to worry him. In my mind, I thought I was going to die and I wanted him to have a restful sleep before waking up to hearing the news that his mum had died. This was a petrifying thought.

25. I started praying again, but I couldn't stop thinking about my son. I prayed to God for the safety of my son and for God to look after him after I die.

5 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0005 26. I then thought about calling my good friend to tell him what was going on and to ask him to look after my son after I die. I had known him for many years and he was a good friend of the family. After my husband passed away, if there were any problems I would always call him. I was reluctant to call but in the end I started to dial his number. The phone started to ring but then I panicked. I immediately hung up the phone before he answered.

27. He called me back within minutes. I picked up the phone. He asked me what was going on. I told him that I was at Alam's flat and that there was a fire in Grenfell Tower. He sounded incredibly alarmed on the phone and asked me if I was ok. I was terrified but tried to stay calm on the phone. I just responded to say 'we are not going to get out. We are dying. Please look after my son when I die and tell him that I love him'.

28. I couldn't believe these were the words coming out of my mouth. He was so shocked and I think in complete disbelief. He told me to not exaggerate and to call the fire brigade. I don't think he realised how bad the fire was and how much smoke there was in the hallway. I believe that the fire alarms in Alam's flat were now going off.

29. I looked outside the window of the living room as I was on the phone to him. I could see fire coming straight up the West side of the Tower towards Alam's flat. The fire was below the flat. I could see fire fighters outside on the ground. In my mind, I believed that calling 999 was pointless because I didn't think they would be able to rescue us but I told my friend that I would call them anyway.

Calls to the emergency services

30. I understand that the Inquiry have disclosed two 999 calls which were made by Alam. I understand that they are recorded as having been made at 02:24 and 02:40.

6 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0006 31. I recall that Alam made four phone calls to the emergency services. I may be wrong about the number of calls which were made. What happened to us was so traumatic and this may have affected what I can remember. All I can say is that I believe Alam made four 999 calls in total.

The first 999 call

32. I told Alam to call the emergency services on 999, even though I didn't believe that they could help us.

33. Alam then looked outside the window and questioned why we needed to call them as the fire services were there and aware that there was a fire in the Tower. She probably saw the firefighters at the bottom of the Tower when she said this. I insisted that she call anyway so Alam used her phone to call 999.

34. She told the operator what flat number we were in, what floor we were on and who she was in the flat with. She explained to them that there was dark black smoke in the hallway outside the flat. I couldn't hear what the operator was saying to her but Alam looked petrified. She said "thank you" and hung up.

35. Alam told me that the emergency services told us to "get out of the flat otherwise we were going to die". I was stunned. Although I had gathered that I wasn't going to survive in the flat, just hearing the emergency services saying this was completely shocking. I had shivers down my spine. I didn't know what to do or say. So we both started praying again.

36. Alam handed me a bible and I just kept reading it and praying to God. My phone started ringing. It was my friend who I had spoken to before, I answered the call and he asked me what the operator had said. I told him that they had told us to get out of the flat. He agreed with the advice and told me to get out. I explained to him that there was too much smoke in the hallway so we couldn't get out. He didn't know what to say. He told me to call 999 again to ask them what to do.

7 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0007 37. I hung up the phone and said `Alam, can you phone them again'. She refused at first to call because she said that it was pointless and that we were going to die. I also believed that she was right but I insisted that she called them and she did agree to call them again.

The second 999 call

38. When she called 999, I could hear her telling them what flat number we were in and the floor we were on. She told them that she was with me. She hung up the phone and told me that the operator had said that we needed to get out the flat.

39. There was now smoke coming into the living room from the hallway inside the flat. I looked over at the living room door which was closed and could see smoke was coming through from the gap underneath the door. It was a light grey smoke that was starting to spread around the living room. I could still see in the flat despite there being smoke. It wasn't like the smoke I had seen outside the front door of the flat.

40. I just started praying again but at this point my lungs started to feel tight and felt like they were burning from the smoke and my eyes were watering. I was coughing too.

41. The living room window was closed the whole time and so I don't think smoke was coming through from the window. The kitchen window was open but I hadn't realised this until later on. I didn't know at the time that the kitchen window was open. I started to really panic and I was crying out in fear. The room was filling up with smoke.

The third 999 call

42. Alam called 999 again and told them that there was smoke in the flat. It was a very quick conversation and Alam told me that they told her to get wet towels

8 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0008 and put them over our faces. They also told her to get wet towels and put them under the gaps in the door. This was to stop the smoke from coming through.

43. I grabbed some clothes that were already in the living room, wet them in the kitchen, and then put them under the door of the living room to try and block out any more smoke from entering.

44. At one point I was banging on the living room window to try and get attention to where we were. After the fire I remember watching a video of the fire and I saw footage of someone at the window who I believed was me but I can't remember where this video was from and what news channel was showing it. I was wearing a long sleeved blue cardigan on the night.

45. I remember my friend phoned me again to find out if 1 had called 999 and what I was doing. He told me to call them again to ask them what to do next. I was incredibly reluctant to do this but I told Alam to call them one last time.

The fourth 999 call

46. Alam called 999 for the last time. Again, I heard her tell them that she was in Flat 94. This was a very short conversation and I just heard her say "Ok. Thank you. God bless you." She hung up the phone. As I have said, this is my recollection and I may be wrong about the number of calls that Alam made to the fire brigade.

47. She looked at me and told me that they said 'if we don't get out of the flat in the next two to three minutes, then we are going to die.' When said this I froze. She grabbed my hand tightly and said 'if it is in God's will then there is nothing we can do about it. We have had a good life.' We both said goodbye to each other.

48. 1 really believed that this was it. This was the moment we were going to die. We both sat down on the sofa. I still had my scarf wrapped around my neck

9 Ethiopia Assefa

IVVS00000891_0009 and my bag over my shoulder. Alam still had the wet towel over hear face. I had taken the wet towel I had around my face off and I had put it on the table.

49. As I sat on the sofa, I could see the wooden brown floor turn black with smoke. I can't say now whether it was actually the floor which changed colour and turned black, or whether it was black smoke on the floor which made it look black. I was so scared and so traumatised at the time that it is difficult to remember. All I can say is that the floor which was brown was now black.

50. I had my shoes on but I could feel my feet were getting hot. I think the floor was getting hot. I was absolutely petrified. I was so scared and wondered which part of the flat was going to catch fire first.

51. For a split second, I thought about how we could escape. I thought about jumping out of the Tower. I looked out of the closed window. The ground floor was too far down to jump and the fire was coming up the Tower. I thought to myself that jumping out the Tower would be certain death, but then again staying in the flat would also be certain death. I personally thought that there was no difference in dying on the sofa or jumping out of the window and dying outside. I banged on the window with my fist just in case anyone could see us but I knew this wouldn't help. I sat back down and I could just feel my throat burning from the smoke. It was difficult to breathe. There was smoke all in the living room. My eyes continued to burn and water and I was coughing from the smoke. I knew that this was the moment I was going to die.

52. Alam shouted 'I can hear someone knocking!' I could hear a knocking noise too. I quickly got up, ran to the living room door, opened it and looked into the hallway of the flat. I shouted 'is anyone there?' No one answered but the knocking on the door carried on.

53. I opened the front door of the flat and standing outside the flat was a firefighter. I couldn't believe someone had come to save us. He was wearing what I would describe as a gas mask and he had a torch light on his head.

10 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0010 54. As soon as I opened the door, thick black smoke from the hallway poured into the flat. I then saw another firefighter standing behind him. He asked me if I was alone. I said 'no. I am with my sister.' He told me to 'go and get her. We are going to try and save you.' My heart was racing so fast. He didn't enter the flat but waited in the hallway with the door open.

55. I ran into the living room and told Alam to come with me as there were firefighters. She came with me to the front door. The same firefighter told us to hold onto him and to put towels around our faces. He said he would try to get us out of the Tower by the stairs and that we had to hold onto him tightly. Although the firefighter had a gas mask on, I could understand him very clearly.

56. I went back into the living room and I picked up the wet towel that on the side of the table. Alam already had her towel over her mouth and so she stayed by the front door. I still had my bag over my shoulder and put the wet towel over my face.

57. I think that we had been trapped inside the flat for around two to three hours before we were rescued. Before I left the flat I remember thinking this is my last chance of making it out alive.

58. I put the wet towel over my face and held the firefighters hand tightly. Alam was behind me with the other firefighter. As we walked into the hallway, I couldn't see anything. It was pitch black and full of thick smoke. I had now covered my entire face with the towel.

59. I didn't know where the fire exit was because the layout of the hallway seemed different since I had lived there. I remember it took us a few minutes to find the fire exit door to the staircase. The firefighters had torches but they couldn't see anything with them on either and that was because of the thickness of the smoke. I remember bumping into a lot of walls on this floor trying to find the doors to the stairwell. The firefighter was feeling his way around and tried several doors before we found the door to the stairwell. I was

1 1 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0011 just praying to God that we would make it out alive. I was coughing uncontrollably and it was so hard to breathe.

60. Once we all found the doors to the stairwell we started to walk down the stairs as fast as we could. I remember feeling incredibly hot as I was walking down the staircase. It was hot like an oven. The firefighter kept shouting out to his colleague to make sure that we were still all together. Alama and the other firefighter were behind us on the stairs.

61. Suddenly the firefighter I was holding on to said 'we've lost your sister. We need to go back upstairs to find them.' I was terrified. I think we walked up one flight of stairs and he shouted out for his colleague. At this point I quickly removed the towel from my face and could see Alam. I am not sure what floor this was. The smoke must have been thinner here because I was able to see her.

62. The stairs were very narrow and the firefighter I was with quickly moved me to one side to give away to another firefighter who was coming down the stairs because the firefighter was holding someone in his arms. It looked like he was holding a child. I will never forget this image. It was haunting to see. I have a feeling that this might have been Isaac Paulo. I did not know him before the fire but I have seen his photo since.

63. Alam and the other firefighter were back with us. I put the towel over my face again, held onto the firefighter tightly, and continued to walk down the stairs. As we were going downstairs I could see through the towel that the smoke was a little bit lighter.

64. I didn't talk the whole time we were walking down the stairs. I didn't reply to the firefighter either if he said something. I just kept praying and praying that we would get out of the Tower safely. It was difficult to breathe on the stairwell and it was hot.

12 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0012 65. The firefighter I was with kept calling out to his colleague to make sure they were still behind us. I couldn't hear any fire alarms going off in the building as I made my way down the stairs. I could occasionally hear Alam shouting 'Jesus!' At one point I heard her shout 'I've dropped my key!' The firefighter told her to not worry about that. I could hear people screaming in the stairwell but I didn't recognise the voices. I assume it was other residents trying to get out of the Tower. I was trying to block this out. I don't know which floors I heard this from.

66. The firefighter I was holding on to was encouraging me to keep going. We were walking down the stairs relatively quickly. There was smoke throughout the stairwell and I remember seeing bits on the floor like wallets and clothes but I don't think they were large enough to obstruct the stairs. I don't remember how long it took us to get down the stairs. I just remember the firefighter I was with say 'we made it'. I could hear a lot more noise now.

67. I removed the wet towel from my face and I saw that I had made it to the ground floor alive. I couldn't believe it. I was in a complete state of shock. I turned to the firefighter and just kept holding him telling him that he had saved me and that he was'my angel'.

68. I was standing on the ground floor of the Tower and I was facing the main entrance of Grenfell Tower. I looked out from the windows and I could see sparks falling down the Tower. There were massive pieces of black plastic debris falling down which were on fire. It was just pouring down as if it was pouring down with rain.

69. Because of the falling debris, we could not get out of the Tower to safety. We needed to get to the other side of the road but we couldn't because the debris was raining down. Suddenly, four or five firefighters circled around me and covered me with shields to protect me.

13 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0013 70. I waited with the firefighters by the entrance, waiting for a moment when the debris stopped. The firefighters with me suddenly shouted 'go!' and we ran out of the Tower and we ran across to the other side of the road.

Timing

71. I understand that there is a photograph taken from CCTV inside the Tower which shows me leaving the Tower at 03:07. The police showed me this photograph and I identified the person in it as me. I think that we were trapped in the flat for two hours. That would mean that I woke up at around 01:00.

72. I believed that Alam called the fire brigade for the last time not long before 03:00. We were rescued by the firefighters after this. I don't know how long it took for me to get from the flat down the stairs.

Outside Grenfell Tower

73. I was now outside the Tower, safe from the fire. I turned to my right and walked down the ramp, away from the Tower. There was a female paramedic who was walking with me.

74. I turned around and looked up at the West side of the Tower which is the same side Alam's flat is on. I started screaming and shouting because the fire had spread all the way to the top of the Tower. I couldn't believe how big the fire was and how much it had spread. That is when I realised how big the fire was and I was shocked.

75. The flames from the fire looked so strong. I didn't expect it to be as bad as it looked. I was in complete shock and disbelief at this point seeing what I had escaped from. I couldn't believe that I had made it out of the Tower alive.

76. I stood there staring at the fire, thinking about those who wouldn't have made it out alive. I thought about the people who must have died already in the

14 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0014 Tower. I was crying my eyes out. It looked like a horror film. I couldn't believe that it was true.

77. As I was walking down the ramp I remember I asked the paramedic 'is this real? Is it a horror film or what?' She responded to say 'Yes my darling. It's true. You came out safely'. I couldn't believe it and just thanked God that I had made it out alive. There were a lot of people stood outside the Tower watching the fire and I can remember hearing them screaming and crying.

78. Alam came out of the Tower too. It was only a few minutes after me. I was so relieved to see her and she was crying her eyes out too. We hugged and she said 'we survived! Thank God we survived! She was still struggling to breathe and she was coughing so much.

79. I was standing by the North side of the Tower. I could see ambulances around where I was standing outside but I didn't see any fire engines. I think that the road was too narrow for the fire engines to get to this part of the Tower which is why they were not parked there. There is no access for fire engines to get through to Grenfell Tower on the Bramley Road side which is close to the Tower.

80. There was a short queue to get to a paramedic where the ambulances were. The paramedics were prioritising victims who were more seriously injured. I was struggling to breathe and was coughing a lot. I remember blowing my nose and there was just black stuff coming out of my nose.

81 I was seen to by paramedics, who gave me a gas mask and they checked my breathing. As I was sat with the paramedics, I remember seeing Helen Gebremeskal who had just got out of the Tower. Helen lived on the 21' floor which is the floor I used to live on when I lived in Grenfell Tower. We had known each other for years and were very close I was relieved to see that she was alive. I hugged her when I saw her. She was crying her eyes out because she told me she had lost her

15 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0015 daughter on the way down and she didn't know where she was. I was devastated to hear this news. It was heart-breaking.

82. I was then put on a stretcher and put into an ambulance. I still had a gas mask on to help me breathe.

83. Alam had already left in an ambulance before me as she was really struggling to breathe and was coughing a lot so the paramedics took her to hospital.

Treatment by the paramedics

84. As I was being taken to hospital, I heard my phone ring so I took off my gas mask and I answered the phone. My family who were away were calling me. They would have known that every Tuesday I would stay at Alam's home because of Bible study group.

85. I answered the call and they sounded so relieved and so happy to know that I was alive. They told me that they had seen the fire on the News. They asked if I was ok and I reassured them that I was in the ambulance and that I was safe. I messaged in a group Viber chat to let my family abroad know that I was safe.

Hospital

86. When I arrived at the hospital I was taken to a ward. I was treated at hospital for smoke inhalation and I had various tests. I lay in the hospital bed and I couldn't stop thinking about the Tower on fire. My mind was playing tricks on me. I suddenly started screaming because I thought that my son might be in the Tower. He had a lot of friends who still lived in the Tower and I thought that he might have been at their flat that night and he didn't make it out alive. I thought his friends from the Tower might have been having a party, smoking cigarettes and that's how the fire might have started. I started panicking.

87. My phone wasn't working as there was poor connection in the hospital. I jumped out my hospital bed and I went to the nurse at reception and told her

16 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0016 that I needed to call my son to make sure he was safe. I called him and he answered the phone. I was so relieved to hear his voice and that he was safe. He sounded so relieved to hear my voice and told me that he was already on his way to the hospital to come and meet me.

88. When my son arrived at the hospital we hugged each other so tightly and both cried our eyes out. He told me that he had received a text message from a friend at around 3am saying `Grenfell Tower is burning'. He told me he thought his friend was joking so went back to sleep. He said that at around 6am a friend phoned him and told him that Grenfell Tower was on fire. My son then went to a community centre near the Tower, and he found a list of names in one of the community centres which had my name on it and what hospital I had been taken to.

Who I knew in the Tower

89. There were many people who I knew who lost their lives on 14 June. I knew Mariem Elgwahry and her mum Eslah Elgwahry very well. I have known Mariem since she was a baby and she used to play in the park with my son when they were kids. Mariem was like a daughter to me. We lived on the same floor when I lived in Grenfell Tower. My son told me a few days after the fire that they didn't make it out alive. I was absolutely distraught. I knew Nura Jemal and her family very well. They lived on the 2l st floor too and I saw them all the time. I spoke to Nura all the time on the phone. When my husband passed away, Nura and her family came to visit me. A few days after the fire, I went to visit Nurah's family to give my condolences. I knew Hesham Rahman very well, I knew Khadija Saye, Steven Power, and Raymond Bernard. I would always see Denis Murphy in the Tower and we would say hello to each other and we would talk when we got the lift together.

90. I couldn't face going to anyone's funerals. 1 did go to Isaac Paulo's funeral who I didn't know but I had a feeling it was the child that I had seen being brought down the stairs by the firefighter.

17 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0017 91. I wanted to find out if the residents who had bought my flat were alive. I walked around the area trying to find them. One day I was walking around the area, and I recognised someone. She was the woman who had bought my flat. As soon as I saw her I cried and cried. I was so relieved and told her I was thinking about her and thanking God that she was alive.

Aftermath

92. There is a lot I want to say about the impact of the fire and the aftermath but I understand this is to be dealt with in Phase 2. I am so thankful to God that I survived. So many people lost their lives that night, people who were my old neighbours and my friends. My life is damaged and I am having counselling. I don't want to go into detail in this statement about how my life has been affected but it has damaged my mental and physical health.

93. I want to thank the fire fighter who saved my life. I am so grateful and owe him my life. He risked his own life to save me and for that I will be forever grateful. He also went back to save Alam and the other firefighter and I will never forget that. I don't know what his name is but I have to find out. He is my angel.

Statement of truth

I believe that the facts stated in this statement are true. I am willing for this statement to form part of the evidence before the Inquiry and to be published on the Inquiry's website.

Signed: 14.10 et, Pi Dated: /6 I

18 Ethiopia Assefa

IWS00000891_0018