Grenfell witnesses who saved lives by filming on their phones
As the first anniversary of the Grenfell disaster approaches, demands for answers to what lay behind the tragedy continue. Grenfell: The First 24 Hours (ItV) looked at events from the moment the fire broke out until the true horror of what became Britain’s worst blaze since the Blitz was realised in the cold light of day.
the documentary, narrated by actress sophie Okonedo, featured residents, relatives of the deceased, witnesses and fire fighters.
Clarita Ghavimi lived on the 10th floor. Annoyed there was nothing decent on tV, she took herself off to bed at 11pm. she was woken up two hours later by a smoke alarm going off. she was one of hundreds of people who called the emergency services, all of whom were told to stay put and wait for help.
Not normally one to defy authority, instinct told Clarita she needed to escape the building.
Banislav ‘ Luca’ Lukic and his friend, from the 11th floor, decided on the same course of action.
As they descended the stairwell they encountered Clarita. Overcome by the smoke and having a panic attack, she was scooped up by Luca and helped out of the building. In the chaos she never got to thank him.
Last night we saw them reunited as an overcome Clarita thanked Luca for saving her life. It was just one of the many stories of astonishing bravery.
Never-before-seen mobile phone footage featured heavily in the programme. Criticism levelled at onlookers who film tragedies has been justified in the past.
In the case of Grenfell, it proved vital and saved lives.
thanks to the footage it was possible to see how terrifyingly quickly the fire spread, while those on the ground were able to capture video of people still trapped in the building, and direct fire fighters to them.
It took 24 hours, 200 fire fighters and 70 fire engines before the flames were totally extinguished.
One resident revealed how she now averts her eyes every time she passes the burnt- out shell of Grenfell. ‘I can’t look. It’s like a giant tomb.’ Raw and totally devastating viewing, but without being voyeuristic, it was a powerful documentary that will stay with people for a very long time.
A series most viewers probably won’t remember by this time next week is Love In The Countryside (BBC2). Last night was the last in what has been a dismal series as men and women who live in remote, rural places threw themselves into the dating game with metropolitan types.
It was a Love Island for farmers, but with wellies rather than bikinis and muddy fields replacing a Mediterranean villa.
Farrier Mark from Norfolk thought he and single mum sarah from Oxford were ‘like two peas in a pod’. But after a weekend at her house, where he bossed her around, she decided never to see him again.
Farm hand Buzz ended up rejected by both his dates.
Who’d have thought that a woman wouldn’t enjoy a first date spent jet- spraying a muck spreader?
For a while it looked as though pig farmer Wendy had struck lucky with retired banker Paul.
they had a weekend away in Italy together and he talked about going into business with her. But at the end of the programme came the dreaded ‘Wendy and Paul decided not to see each other again’ voiceover.
As the rural lonely hearts were a mixture of men and women, wouldn’t it have made more sense to introduce them to each other rather than a bunch of unsuitable city dwellers who lived hundreds of miles away? CHRISTOPHER STEVENS is away.