Volunteers helping the victims of fire disaster

A VOLUNTEER from Cardiff is among those helping the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire disaster.

The British Red Cross has drafted the support of four volunteers and two members of full-time staff from Wales who are assisting in the relief effort.

They travelled to Westway Sports and Leisure Centre on Sunday. The sports centre has been transformed to offer emergency help.

The charity have a psycho-social team who can help offer intense first aid to people with mental health issues as a result of an incident. There are also NHS teams on hand for people with severe needs.

Rob Donovan, 32, is from Roath. He has been involved in the operation since Saturday.

He said: “All these people have been traumatised either in the fire or by living nearby. We have different levels of need here and we are trying to cater for all those needs.

“Walking around the streets it is really strange. We have been inside the cordon today and it was really eerie. The tower block and charred remains are dominant. If you lived her, it would be a harrowing thing to see. Even if you didn’t know anyone who was in that block, if you live nearby it is distressing”.

Inside the hall, people are still waiting to hear news of their relatives.

“At the beginning there was a lot of anger and a lot of people asking ‘how can this happen in modern Britain?.’ There is a lot of grief. The grief is overwhelming,” said Rob.

He said local volunteers have mobilised to sort the thousands of bags and boxes of donations.

He added: “The support from the community has been just amazing. It’s a massive tragedy but the silver lining is seeing how great people can be. People are always down on the human condition, they say it is in the human nature to be mean and evil. When something happens like this, human nature kicks in and that is of kindness and it’s just amazing to see.”

Huge firms have been offering free food, beds or even taxi rides to volunteers.

On Monday, a minute’s silence was held for the victims. The centre fell silent.

Rob said: “It was really moving. We were stood next to a group of five people who just formed a huddle, they were a family, and they just started weeping. As it finished it was our job to help them”

You can donate to the London Fire Relief Fund by visiting www.redcross.org.uk/londonfire or calling 0300 023 0827.