‘Faulty fridge owner’ is left traumatised by his ordeal
THE man whose faulty fridge apparently sparked the Grenfell Tower blaze has told friends he is “haunted” by what happened.
It has been claimed that dad-of-one Behailu Kebede raised the alarm after the fire engulfed his one-bedroom flat.
He eventually fled the highrise tower block and watched in horror as the flames took hold of the entire building.
The cabbie, 44, was interviewed by police and is now staying with friends.
One pal said: “He is haunted by what happened. He’s just thankful he managed to alert his neighbours.
“Behailu contacted the police and told them everything. He is very shocked. He told me he saw smoke and straight away started knocking on the doors of his neighbours.”
ALARM
Behailu is originally from Ethiopia and has a son but is understood to have lived alone.
Neighbour Maryann Adam told how Behailu banged on her front door. The 41-year-old, who is pregnant, said: “He said there was a fire in his flat.
“It was exactly 12.50am because I was sleeping and it woke me up. If he had not knocked we would be dead.
“The fire was small in the kitchen. I could see it because the flat door was open.
“He said, ‘You must go, there is a fire in my flat. There is a fire in my flat, please go out’.
“There was no alarm. We ran out and saw that the fire was already spreading.”
Another neighbour, Aalya Moses, also praised Behailu for saving her life. She said: “There was no alarm, no sprinkler, just my neighbour who told everyone on my floor and the surrounding floors. If he hadn’t told me I wouldn’t have known. The fire just went wild.”