Grenfell Tower inquiry: firefighter still on probation recalls rescue of mother and child from burning building

After just 15 months as a firefighter, Harry Bettinson was one of the most junior officers called to tackle the blaze at Grenfell Tower.

But despite his inexperience, Mr Bettinson – who was still on probation at the time – managed to rescue a mother and daughter from the fire that killed 72 in June last year.

Speaking at the public inquiry into the blaze, he said he had been sent into the North Kensington block to get residents to leave – banging on doors and shouting that they needed to flee – when he discovered the woman and her young daughter sheltering in their ninth floor flat.

The lobby and staircase had already filled with toxic black smoke, he said in a written statement, adding: ”There was no way we could get the mother and daughter out without air as the heat and smoke would have been too much for them.”

While two of his crew went to fetch breathing apparatus, Mr Bettinson and another officer shut themselves inside the flat and used a duvet to stop smoke seeping inside.

“I could see debris and hot flames falling down past the windows,” he said. “It was like fireballs and flaming arrows.”

Despite the chaos, the mother and daughter “stayed so calm”. “It was really strange. Not once did they panic or kick up a fuss. We knew we were running out of time, the smoke was getting worse every second,” he said.

After about 20 minutes, his colleagues returned with breathing apparatus. He fitted a face mask on the child, who he said was aged about four or five, linked it up to his oxygen supply, and clutched her to his chest as he descended the narrow stairwell.

“She didn’t fuss once, even when the mask was put over her. I was really taken by how calm they both were throughout.”

The Paddington firefighter and his colleagues left the flat and guided the residents through the thick smoke down the stairwell, which was “pure black”, he said.

Mr Bettinson said they were trying to protect the mother from firefighters wearing bulky equipment accidentally barging into her as they charged up and down the stairs.

“I was also having to be as careful as I was carrying the little girl, I was holding her tight to my chest. She never once made a fuss,” he continued.

“At one point I grew concerned as I didn’t know if she was breathing she was so still and quiet.

“I shouted at her to open her eyes and she did so I knew she was still OK.”

After making it outside safely, Mr Bettinson began helping to bring casualties out of the building, estimating he saw more than a dozen bodies that night.

The Grenfell fire was only the second high-rise fire he had been called to attend, he said.

After Mr Bettinson had given his evidence, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick told him: “If I may say so, I think you played a very important part in the fire brigade’s response and did extraordinarily well.”

Additional reporting by PA