‘We’re the lucky ones , we survived’

Hannah West, 23, and her daughter Thea, six, fled from their flat on the seventh storey of the tower. She says, “On the night of the fire, my then-boyfriend Mickey smelt burning and woke us up. He wrapped Thea in his dressing gown and ran down the stairs as I followed. We lost everything. I left in a T-shirt and pants and had nothing else. Thankfully, friends, family and volunteers rallied round to help us with immediate practicalities like clothes.

“The next few weeks, I felt like a zombie. I’d be getting on with things and then suddenly, a smell of burning would creep over me and I’d panic. My threeyear relationship with Mickey ended two months after the fire. It was amicable, but we couldn’t cope with the stress. We were all temporarily re-housed in one room in a hotel, I had to focus my energy on Thea and we both had post-traumatic stress disorder. I’m now on medication, which helps, and I have counselling every week. Thea has counselling, too. On the surface, she’s a bubbly, bright little girl, but she saw things no child should ever see, so has terrible nightmares and started wetting the bed.

“Last week, we were rehomed in temporary accommodation and I’m hoping to move into a permanent home soon. It has been very tough. But we’re the lucky ones, we survived.”