Volunteer given medal for work after Grenfell
A WELSH volunteer who helped in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster has been honoured with the Red Cross’ highest medal.
Deborah Lamont, a lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitian University who was recognised for her actions, has spoken of the trauma she witnessed on the night of the fatal fire.
More than 70 people were killed in the blaze in north Kensington, London, on June 14, 2017, and another 70 people were left seriously injured.
The fire itself burned for 60 hours before being extinguished and it took more than 250 firefighters to put it out.
It is believed the fire may have been started in a fridge freezer on the fourth floor and accelerated due to the tower’s cladding. An independent review is in progress.
One of the many people to offer their help as volunteers in the aftermath of the fire was Dr Lamont, from Dinas Powys, who had been volunteering with the Red Cross for a number of years. The 43-yearold got the train to London just hours after the fire had started to work on the ground.
She said: “The Red Cross reached out to all staff and volunteers for anyone who would want to become involved and I immediately put my name forward and I was there in hours.
“I was one of the members of the emergency response team and we were working with central and local government and the emergency services to co-ordinate a rescue centre for those affected and the wider community.
“We had a number of rescue centres around the Kensington area to provide emotional and physical support.
“We also knocked on doors in the surrounding flats to see how they were coping and if they needed anything.
“It was a big co-ordinated effort between the voluntary sector and the local community, who were on the ground right from the beginning and they responded so bravely. They came together and were the epitome of community.”
Dr Lamont said there were many incidents from her time volunteering in Grenfell that stuck in her mind, including the accounts of witnesses who lived in th surrounding flats.
She said: “When we were outreaching to the local community, they were the ones that saw the fire from the outside.
“People in the surrounding flats saw the fire and the devastation. They saw the thick smoke, the debris and witnessed people falling out of windows or throwing themselves out because they’d rather do that than perish in the fire. They saw people trying to save their children by throwing them floors down, they could see body bags from their flats and having to see the Grenfell Tower every day.”
Despite her three years with the Red Cross, this was the first major emergency Dr Lamont had attended and she said the experience was something she would never be able to forget.
As a result of her volunteering efforts, Dr Lamont was awarded The Henry Dunant Medal, the highest honour the Red Cross can give one of its members, which left feeling “honoured”.
She said she intends to revisit Grenfell Tower this year to mark the anniversary of the terrible tragedy.
She added: “It was emotionally challenging for me but I was grateful for the opportunity to help them and I am not likely to forget the scenes I saw, but I would volunteer again in a heartbeat because that’s the reason I joined up.”