Portadown 999 staff took tragic emergency calls

HUNDREDS of 999 calls during a horrific fire at Grenfell Tower in west London were handled by call centre workers in Portadown, it has emerged.

The inferno, which broke out shortly before 1am on Wednesday, tore through all floors of the building and took more than 200 firefighters 24 hours to bring it under control.

Emergency 999 calls made about the blaze were handled by BT call centre employees in Portadown.

On social media, a local call centre worker said yesterday: “It wasn’t a pleasant shift”.

A BT spokeswoman confirmed: “BT’s 999 team across the UK, including our call centre in Portadown, responded to a number of emergency calls throughout this tragic incident. As per usual processes, calls were onward connected to the relevant emergency service. Our thoughts and deepest condolences remain with everyone affected.”

She said counselling was available for employees. “As well as the personal support of their line manager, all BT personnel have access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which offers face-to-face counselling and advice lines for staff.”

UUUP MLA Doug Beattie said: “It’s not often we’re called on to pay tribute to the work of call centre personnel but it can be incredibly harrowing to take phone calls from people in distress, and to remain professional in the face of tragedy. Credit where credit’s due — they did a great job.”