Family pay tribute to the hero of Grenfell Tower who sheltered six victims
A HERO of the Grenfell Tower disaster sheltered six people in his top floor flat as the inferno cut off all hope of escape, an inquiry heard yesterday.
Raymond “Moses” Bernard, a former Buckingham Palace electrician, gave refuge to the fleeing victims and even offered them his bed.
They perished together in his 24thstorey flat, suffocated by smoke, poisoned by cyanide fumes and finally consumed by fire.
Mr Bernard’s dog Marley also died in the fire.
His sister Bernadette told the inquiry her brother’s nickname was apt.
Fighting back tears, she said: “My beloved Ray was my modern-day Moses, my hero. Ray always had a smile on his face.
“He knew how to love without expecting anything in return.”
Six people fleeing the flames were welcomed into the 63-year-old’s home.
Strongest
They were Deborah Lamprell, 45, Jessica Urbano-Ramirez, 12, pregnant Berkti Haftom, 29, her 12-yearold son Biruk, Hamid Kani, 61, and one other, said Miss Bernard.
“As there was no way down to escape, the only alternative was to head towards the top floor,” she told the inquiry.
“There they met Ray and took refuge in his flat. The positioning of Deborah, Jessica, Berkti and Biruk were on my brother’s bed with my brother resting beside the bed on the floor.
“This shows the respect he gave to those who lost their lives and we know that he would have given comfort to each of them.”
She added: “Ray being a man and the strongest he was probably the last to die.
“He would have been so alone. We know from the details shared by the coroner that Ray was a hero on that tragic night.”
Tributes were paid to the victims at the Millennium Hotel in South Kensington ahead of formal hearings next week. The inferno last June claimed the lives of 71 people. Earlier, the daughter of a disabled woman criticised Kensington and Chelsea Council for housing her on the 18th floor when officials acknowledged she should never have been living above the fourth floor. Sakineh Afrasiabi’s “human right to escape” was breached by the decision, said Nazanin Aghlani. She said. Iranian-born Ms Afrasiabi, 65, was partially blind and could only move with the aid of a tri-walker. Ms Aghlani added: “Every day as our mind tries to make sense of this disastrous tragedy, we come to the conclusion that it was not only the horrifying fire that took my mum’s life that night.
“The discrimination and failure in duty of care by the housing allocations team which resulted in a vulnerable, physically disabled and partially sighted pensioner being housed on the 18th floor of a tower block equally took the life of my mum.”
Bernard Richmond, QC, counsel to the inquiry, said it had been heartbreaking to witness the “depth of grief and despair” of the bereaved. He added: “But uplifting too, to be present in a room where each of those speaking was given so much support and love, to experience the truly amazing spirit of the community that was Grenfell, and which will doubtless live on in the hearts of the survivors, long after the remains of the tower are no longer visible.
“To hear the beautiful words and thoughts expressed in so many moving ways...like all of us present, it will leave in me an indelible mark and we should all be honoured to be privileged to have been here to listen.”