Last out Grandfather’s seven-hour wait

The last person to evacuate Grenfell Tower did not leave the block of flats until after 8am – seven hours after the blaze was first reported to the emergency services, the inquiry was told yesterday.

The man saved is thought to be Elpidio Bonifacio, known as Elpie, a partially blind grandfather in his 70s, who was miraculously rescued from his 11th floor flat.

His plight was filmed by television cameras as he stood at his window, desperately waving a white jumper, imploring the emergency services to save him.

The fire was first reported to the fire brigade shortly before 1am.

Richard Millett QC, counsel to the inquiry, told the hearing the last person saved from the block did not leave until 8.07am.

However, it was not until 7.55pm that it was declared there was “no longer any savable life in the building”.

Mr Millett told the hearing that 187 occupants, about 64 per cent of the tower’s residents, had evacuated the tower by the time the “stay put” advice was formally abandoned at 2.47am.