Chapter 89: Floor 15

¶89.1 All six flats on floor 15 were occupied at 00.54 when the fire started.⁴⁷⁶⁴⁷⁶ Phase 1 Report Volume II paragraph 10.15. Between 01.21 and 01.36, the occupants of Flats 121, 123, 125 and 126 left the tower. Only Steve Power, his daughter Rebecca Ross (both in Flat 122) and Christos Fairbairn (in Flat 124) then remained. Steve Power did not survive the fire.

¶89.2 Aziza El-Ouahabi Raihani from Flat 126 had left the tower⁴⁷⁷⁴⁷⁷ Phase 1 Report Volume III Annex A. by the time the fire reached the outside of her flat at 01.23.⁴⁷⁸⁴⁷⁸ Bisby, Supplemental Phase 1 Expert Report {LBYS0000001/159}. A few minutes earlier, Rashida Ali, who lived in Flat 125, had ventured into the lobby on floor 15 to find that it was still clear of smoke.⁴⁷⁹⁴⁷⁹ Ali {Day67/47:8-17}. She left the tower at 01.23.⁴⁸⁰⁴⁸⁰ Phase 1 Report Volume III Annex A.

¶89.3 Conditions quickly changed as the fire on the outside of the building entered Flat 126. At 01.27, FF David Badillo entered the tower on his way to floor 20 in search of Jessica Urbano Ramirez.⁴⁸¹⁴⁸¹ Phase 1 Report Volume II paragraph 10.79 (b). When the lift stopped at floor 15 and the doors opened it filled with black smoke. Struggling to breathe and see, FF Badillo left the lift, found his way to the stairwell door and went down the stairs.⁴⁸²⁴⁸² Phase 1 Report Volume II paragraph 10.101 (a). He had no contact with any of the residents on floor 15.⁴⁸³⁴⁸³ Badillo {Day13/119:6}-{Day13/123:7}. By 01.31, FF Badillo had left the tower.⁴⁸⁴⁴⁸⁴ Phase 1 Report Volume II paragraph 11.10. Reem Dedrich (Flat 123) and Sid Ali Atmani (Flat 125) left the tower at 01.33 and 01.36 respectively. The lobby on floor 15 was full of thick dark smoke when each of them escaped.⁴⁸⁵⁴⁸⁵ Phase 1 Report Volume II paragraphs 11.86 and 11.87.

¶89.4 FF Steven Mills and Geoffrey Campbell tallied out at 01.51 to go to Flat 175 on floor 20. When they reached floor 15, they realised that they could not reach floor 20 without extended duration breathing apparatus.⁴⁸⁶⁴⁸⁶ Phase 1 Report Volume II paragraph 13.14. FF Mills recalled that before descending the stairs he and FF Campbell had banged on the doors of all the flats on floors 15 and 14.⁴⁸⁷⁴⁸⁷ Mills {MET000080584/6} page 6. FF Campbell was less certain whether they had stopped on floor 14 or floor 15 before descending and thought that they may have searched floor 9.⁴⁸⁸⁴⁸⁸ Campbell {MET00010788/8-10} pages 8-10. Christos Fairbairn heard banging on his front door,⁴⁸⁹⁴⁸⁹ Phase 1 Report Volume II paragraph 14.194. but he did not become aware of the fire until much later, probably not before 02.20.⁴⁹⁰⁴⁹⁰ Phase 1 Report Volume II paragraph 14.194. Since the firefighters had logged off the system by 02.11,⁴⁹¹⁴⁹¹ BA Telemetry Data {LFB00023326/1} page 1. it is unlikely that what Christos Fairbairn heard had anything to do with them.

¶89.5 Neither Rebecca Ross, her father nor any relatives or friends made an emergency call reporting that persons were in Flat 122, although the LFB received that information by other means. Christos Fairbairn made six emergency calls, the first at 03.00 and the last at 03.31, four of which were to the fire and rescue service.⁴⁹²⁴⁹² Phase 1 Report Volume III paragraphs 17.85, 17.138, 18.43 and 18.44. He was advised to leave the building and when he did do so he encountered firefighters who helped him out. Christos Fairbairn left the tower at 03.54.⁴⁹³⁴⁹³ Phase 1 Report Volume III paragraphs 18.46 and 18.47. His calls did not result in the deployment of any firefighters to floor 15.

Steven Power

¶Date of birth: 18 August 1953 (63 years). Place of birth: London, UK. Gender: Male. Occupation: Retired. Usual address: Flat 122, floor 15, Grenfell Tower, London. Place of death: Flat 122, floor 15, Grenfell Tower, London. Time of death: Between 03.15 and 04.00 on 14 June 2017. Cause of death: Inhalation of asphyxiant gases.

¶Coronary artery atheroma.

Background and composition of household

¶89.6 Steven (Steve) Power lived in Flat 122 with his daughter Rebecca Ross, his son Bobby Ross and his three dogs Stevie, Diva and Jess. A retired driver, he was a keen fisherman and disc jockey who had lived in the tower since 1985.⁴⁹⁴⁴⁹⁴ Phase 1 Report Volume IV paragraphs 32.259-32.263.

Vulnerability

¶89.7 Steve Power suffered from emphysema, which made walking difficult.⁴⁹⁵⁴⁹⁵ Ross {IWS00001036/6} page 6, paragraph 15. He had also been diagnosed with bowel cancer.⁴⁹⁶⁴⁹⁶ Bobby Ross Exhibit BR/4 – Letters from North Kensington Law Centre to KCTMO {IWS00002360}. Rydon's resident survey of November 2014 notes that they had yet to speak to him.⁴⁹⁷⁴⁹⁷ Rydon Residents Survey {RYD00024466/24}. He did not appear in the spreadsheet listing vulnerable residents produced on the night of the fire by David Noble of the TMO based on information from the TMO's Capita Insight system.⁴⁹⁸⁴⁹⁸ Noble {TMO00000884}.

Events of 14 June 2017

¶89.8 Both Steve Power and Rebecca Ross were home in Flat 122 on the evening of the fire. Steve Power woke his daughter at about 01.30 to tell her that there was a fire in the building. She wanted to leave, but he thought they should remain in the flat.⁴⁹⁹⁴⁹⁹ Phase 1 Report Volume II paragraph 14.191.

¶89.9 Rebecca Ross was able to see something of the fire from the flat, but it was only on seeing an image on Twitter that she realised its extent. By that time friends and family members were calling and urging Steve and Rebecca to leave and she tried to persuade her father to do so. At about 02.00, she opened the front door to see a cloud of thick grey smoke in the lobby although the lighting was still visible.⁵⁰⁰⁵⁰⁰ Phase 1 Report Volume II paragraphs 14.192-14.193.

¶89.10 At about 02.22, while Rebecca Ross was on the telephone to her brother Wayne Power‑Davis, black smoke began to fill the flat. She and her father agreed to leave. While he put on his shoes, she soaked towels for them both. As she was moving to the front door, Rebecca Ross noticed that flames appeared to be about to come through the kitchen window. She found the lobby so full of black smoke that it was impossible to see. Her father was still in the flat when she left. Leaving the front door open, she managed to find her way to the stairwell and began to make her way down the stairs.⁵⁰¹⁵⁰¹ Phase 1 Report Volume III paragraphs 16.64-16.66; Ross {IWS00001036/15} page 15, paragraph 35.

¶89.11 At 02.47, FF Robert Dwyer and Christopher Perez encountered Rebecca Ross on the stairs between floors 10 and 11. She was struggling to breathe, so they decided to carry her down the stairs.⁵⁰²⁵⁰² Dwyer {MET00012781/5-6} pages 5-6; Perez {MET00017426/6} page 6; LFB Operational Response Report dated July 2020 {LFB00119333/231}. Rebecca Ross was able to tell them that her father was trapped in Flat 122 on floor 15. As well as sending that information to the bridgehead, the firefighters briefed the bridgehead directly when they reached it.⁵⁰³⁵⁰³ Perez {MET00017426/6} page 6.

¶89.12 Rebecca Ross left the tower at 02.54.⁵⁰⁴⁵⁰⁴ Phase 1 Report Volume III Annex A. She subsequently learned that a friend of her father had spoken to him on the telephone after she had left Flat 122.⁵⁰⁵⁵⁰⁵ Ross {IWS00001036/21} page 21, paragraph 55. There is no further evidence of when the call was made or what was said, but it appears to have been the last contact with Steve Power.

Information to the incident ground

¶89.13 Between 02.10 and 02.22 CU7 was given the task of managing information about people who needed to be rescued from the tower.⁵⁰⁶⁵⁰⁶ Phase 1 Report Volume IV paragraph 28.84 (d). The crew used a laminated sheet to record information obtained from pieces of paper created in CU8.⁵⁰⁷⁵⁰⁷ Phase 1 Report Volume II paragraphs 12.8-12.9. It included the following information: "122 15 2 Persons".⁵⁰⁸⁵⁰⁸ Phase 1 Report Volume II Figure 12.3. The same information appears on the whiteboard used by CU7 after 03.00 to record information.⁵⁰⁹⁵⁰⁹ Phase 1 Report Volume III paragraph 15.13; Phase 1 Report Volume III paragraph 16.12 and Figure 16.5; Photograph of whiteboard {MET00015924}. There the number "2" was written in green indicating two adults.⁵¹⁰⁵¹⁰ Goodall {MET000083296/11} page 11.

¶89.14 FF Mandeep Singh acted as a runner taking messages from the command units to the bridgehead and to WM Glynn Williams in the ground floor lobby of the tower.⁵¹¹⁵¹¹ Singh {MET000083327/12} page 12. From 02.15 WM Williams began using the wall of the lobby to record information that was then passed to the bridgehead.⁵¹²⁵¹² Phase 1 Report Volume II paragraphs 14.103-14.105 and Figure 14.5; Photographs of ground floor wall {MET00005774} and {MET00005776}. One note in FF Singh's handwriting read: "Glen Williams" at the top and then "15th Floor 122 x 2 people x 2 dogs."⁵¹³⁵¹³ Singh Exhibit MSI/1 – pages from notebook {MET00013089/1}. WM Williams did not see FF Singh's note and the information was not added to the wall.⁵¹⁴⁵¹⁴ Phase 1 Report Volume IV paragraph 28.85 (a).

¶89.15 The information in FF Singh's note must be linked to his recollection of having been approached by a man to say that his father was on floor 15 in Flat 122. The man had told him that there were two people and two dogs in the flat and that his father was refusing to leave. FF Singh said he had recorded the information in a note and had taken it to the bridgehead.⁵¹⁵⁵¹⁵ Singh {MET000083327/16} page 16.

¶89.16 In any event, at some point, information about Flat 122 was recorded on the lobby wall. Photographs of that wall show the following had been written on it: a. "BA 122 15th" and "Smoke log" on the right-hand side. WM Williams said that the

entry was in his handwriting and that the information had come from the command unit. The notation of "BA" was to show that a crew had been deployed to that flat.⁵¹⁶⁵¹⁶ Williams {Day31/113:23}-{Day31/114:1}; {Day31/162:9-22}.

¶b. "122 15?" on the left-hand side. WM Williams said that that entry was also in his handwriting but he could not remember what the question mark meant.⁵¹⁷⁵¹⁷ Williams {Day31/164:18-21}.

¶c. "122 15 1P" also on the left-hand side. WM Williams said that that entry was not in his handwriting.⁵¹⁸⁵¹⁸ Williams {Day31/164:9-17}.

¶89.17 At the time that FF Dwyer relayed the information from Rebecca Ross, the bridgehead was still on floor 3. WM Louisa De Silvo recorded information about people needing to be rescued on a wall on that floor. It included: "122 FIRE IN THE KITCHEN 122". The first "122" was circled and marked with two ticks and the second underlined and circled.⁵¹⁹⁵¹⁹ Phase 1 Report Volume II Figure 15.7; The photograph was taken at 03.08 when the bridgehead was about to be relocated to the ground floor: Cook Exhibit GAC/2 - Grenfell Tower statement notes {MET00015779/16} page 16. A tick against a particular flat indicated that a crew had been deployed there and a circle indicated that WM de Silvo had received further information, either by runner or radio or from a returning crew. A cross through the flat indicated that it had been searched. She thought that "122" had probably been written and circled again, and underlined, for emphasis because she had received further information about it or because firefighters had been unable to reach it.⁵²⁰⁵²⁰ De Silvo {Day30/24:16}-{Day30/25:6}; {Day30/31:6}-{Day30/32:17}. It is likely that some of the information came from FFs Dwyer and Perez, since it appears on a control information form together with the time 2.47.⁵²¹⁵²¹ Control information form {LFB00001955/1}. The forms were used at the incident ground to record information about people needing to be rescued.

¶89.18 Although WM De Silvo could not recall having deployed a crew to Flat 122,⁵²²⁵²² De Silvo {Day30/32:8-17}. FF Leon Whitley and Ricky Nuttall tallied out at 02.44 and 02.45 respectively with instructions to go to Flat 122. They took a hose with them. On reaching floor 15, they charged the hose and located Flat 122 but then realised they were low on air. Being concerned that they would not be able to carry out an effective rescue, they decided to return to the bridgehead. FF Nuttall described the visibility on floor 15 as zero with thick black smoke. By the time they reached the bridgehead, it had been moved to the ground floor. FF Nuttall tried to tell WM Williams about Flat 122, but he was too busy to take the information in. Outside the tower, FF Nuttall gave the information to a watch manager who said he would deal with it.⁵²³⁵²³ Phase 1 Report Volume III paragraphs 15.59-15.60; Nuttall {MET00012561/11-14} pages 11 and 13-14.

¶89.19 The reference to two adults makes it likely that the information recorded in CU7 and by FF Singh was received before Rebecca Ross had left Flat 122. One source was probably a friend of Rebecca Ross outside the tower.⁵²⁴⁵²⁴ Ross {IWS00001036/11} page 11, paragraph 29. The proximity in timing between FFs Dwyer and Perez finding Rebecca Ross and FFs Nuttall and Whitley being deployed suggests that it was the information from FFs Dwyer and Perez that prompted their deployment. WM De Silvo may have added the detail about a fire in the kitchen of Flat 122 after that deployment. Of the notes made on the ground floor lobby, the reference to "BA" and "smoke log" are likely to refer to that deployment.

¶89.20 The information received from FFs Dwyer, Perez, Nuttall and Whitley did not prompt a further deployment to Flat 122.

Recovery and identification

¶89.21 The remains of Steve Power were recovered from the bedroom of Flat 122.⁵²⁵⁵²⁵ Purser, Phase 2 Report, Section 6 {DAPR0000006/134} paragraph 723. The coroner, Professor Wilcox, was satisfied about the identification of those remains and therefore issued an interim certificate of the fact of death.⁵²⁶⁵²⁶ Interim certificate of the fact of death for Steven Power {MET00065616}. Steve Power was found with his dogs, Stevie, Diva and Jess.⁵²⁷⁵²⁷ Presentation relating to Steven Power {Day307/92:10-15}.

Cause and time of death

¶89.22 The post-mortem and toxicological investigations on Steve Power found soot in, and mild heat damage to, the respiratory system. Carboxyhaemoglobin was present in the blood but it was not possible to quantify the concentration. There was significant evidence of coronary artery atheroma, which, although not a direct cause of death, rendered Steve Power more vulnerable to the effects of carbon monoxide. A lower concentration would therefore have resulted in drowsiness, unconsciousness, and death.⁵²⁸⁵²⁸ Power post-mortem report {COR00001432}; Power toxicology report {COR00001444}; Purser, Phase 2 Report, Section 6 {DAPR0000006/134} paragraph 723.

¶89.23 In the post-mortem report on Steve Power the medical cause of death was recorded as: Ia. Inhalation of products of combustion II. Coronary artery atheroma.

¶89.24 In the light of Professor Purser's evidence, we find that a more accurate description of the primary cause of death is "inhalation of asphyxiant gases".

¶89.25 The fire on the outside of the building reached Flat 122 between 02.23 to 02.29. By 02.49, it had spread from the east face of the living room to the south face. Between about 03.02 and 03.12 it spread to and across the external walls of the bedrooms.⁵²⁹⁵²⁹ Purser, Phase 2 Report, Section 6 {DAPR0000006/133} paragraph 715.

¶89.26 Steve Power's pre-existing health conditions made it difficult for him to leave the tower with his daughter. Having regard to the extent to which Rebecca Ross was exposed to asphyxiant gases, the time at which the fire spread to his flat and his underlying health condition, we are satisfied that Steve Power lost consciousness soon after his daughter left Flat 122. The mild heat damage to his respiratory system probably occurred after he had lost consciousness. Steve Power died between 03.15 and 04.00.⁵³⁰⁵³⁰ Purser {Day297/114:14-25}.