Witness Name: Oluwaseun Talabi

Statement No.: 1

Dated: 20 May 2018

THE GRENFELL TOWER INQUIRY

Witness Statement of Oluwaseun Talabi

Flat 113, 14th Floor ,Grenfell Tower

I Oluwaseun Talabi, currently of

London W8 will say as follows:-

INTRODUCTION

1. Prior to the life-changing fire at Grenfell Tower, I lived on the 14th floor, flat 113, from

approximately 2015 until the flat and the Tower were destroyed. I lived there happily

with my girlfriend (now fiancée) Rosemary Oyewole, and our six-year-old daughter

. I am giving this statement to tell the Inquiry and the world what happened on

14 June 2017 and how it has affected my and my family's life ever since.

2. The fire was an indescribably harrowing and nightmarish experience. The fear and the

desperation was such that at one point I tried to climb out of the window and lower

myself down the burning building with bed sheets tied together in a makeshift rope. I

truly thought that I and my family were going to die that night; our survival was purely

chance. Although we managed to get out of the Tower alive, unlike so many others, the

events of that night have stayed with me and will never leave me. This is what happened

that night.

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Family Life

3. I was born in 1986], and I was 30 years old at the time of the fire. I

came to the United Kingdom in 2000.

4. I went to the University of East London where I studied Media and Creative Industries. I

am now, as I was before, a logistics manager in the construction industry. I have been

with my girlfriend, Rosemary, since we were 16, so since 2002. I helped her move in to

Grenfell Tower about 5 or so years ago when she first arrived there. In the intervening

period when I was not permanently living at Rosemary's flat in Grenfell Tower, I stayed

over there regularly to see my daughter and to spend time with my family. I moved in

permanently in around 2015, and I informed Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

('RBKC', 'the Council') that I was living there permanently shortly after.

5. There were 6 flats on the 14th floor. I think I knew everyone that lived on our floor:

5.1. Denis. He was an older, Irish man in his 50s, about 5'7" tall, with short gray hair. He

kept himself to himself, but he was very friendly. I know that Dennis was friends

with another resident of Grenfell Tower, Steve. Steve lived on a different floor,

maybe 15t11 or 1 6th, with his pet dog. He was of a similar age to Denis with long,

gray hair;

5.2. There was also a family from the Philippines on our floor. It was a family of 3 - a

man, his wife, and their son. I can't remember their names. The husband was in his

late 40s or early 50s. His wife was also about the same age but of a smaller build.

Their son was about 16-17 years old, and of slightly bigger build than his Dad. I

think they had a daughter who is in her 30s. She came to visit her family from time-

to-time but I don't think she lived in the flat or stayed there;

5.3. Zainab and her infant son Jeremiah also lived on my floor. Zainab was from Sierra

Leone. She spoke English well but not in a British accent. She was in her late 20s or

early 30s, and she was short, no more than 5'0 or 5'2. I think her son was two or

three years old. He was small and frail for his age; and

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5.4. There was another flat on our floor, but I don't think that anyone lived there.

Pre-Fire Life

6. Rosemary rented the flat from the Council and moved into Grenfell Tower in around

2013 with our daughter, K . After I moved in, although I made regular

contributions toward the household and the costs, she remained the tenant, the rent was

paid from her account and she was the main person on the lease.

7. My daughter, K

Concerns about Fire Safety

8. I always felt funny about the Tower before the fire. The moment I found out that my girls

were moving into Grenfell Tower I felt unhappy. As a man, I didn't want to identify my

fears and concerns, but I always wondered what would happen if there was a fire below

us. Grenfell Tower was the first tower block I ever slept in, let alone lived in. I think most

people would be concerned about what you were supposed to do if there was a fire in a

high rise block of flats.

9. I did everything to try and move elsewhere when we were first told that we had a tenancy

in Grenfell Tower. I convinced my girlfriend and she made loads of calls to get moved

elsewhere but we were told that there was no alternative. At the end of the day, though, it

was my girlfriend's tenancy, so if she wanted to stay there it wasn't my choice.

10. As far as I am aware I was never given any information about fire safety from the Tenant

Management Organisation (TMO), RBKC, or anyone else. Maybe it's because I moved

in after my girlfriend that they didn't give me any information, but I was certainly never

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given any information. Maybe my girlfriend was, but looking back I can't remember ever

seeing even a poster on the wall or any information about fire safety anywhere.

11. I had not given much thought to the actual mechanics of getting out of the flat or the

Tower if there was a fire. I suppose I assumed, only from common sense, that if there was

a fire I thought I could contain it, I would first try to do that. I always believed though

that the safest and most sensible way of getting out was to run down the stairs as quickly

as we could. Not that I thought the stairs were safe as after the refurbishment there were

gas pipes on the wall all the way down; I'll talk more about those later.

12. I never thought I would have tried to be a hero, but I thought I would do all I could to get

my family out and help to evacuate. What would I do if there was a fire? I don't know,

even on the night of the fire I was confused, we were all confused about what to do and

where to go. My thing was fear, the fear that a fire would happen. I was concerned that it

would happen and that we would have no way out. Now, looking back, if I had thought

about what I would do maybe I would have been able to help some of the people that died

in my flat. That thought haunts me.

13. I didn't think that there was a fire safety system in Grenfell Tower. outside what we had

in our flat. I just thought, to be honest, I know that there was a hose-reel next to our front

door but it was never touched. I wasn't aware that it was ever inspected or looked at by

anyone. It definitely looked old.

14. I presumed there wasn't a fire alarm system in the Tower because, and 1 don't want to

start talking cynically, but I just don't think they (RBKC) cared. I don't think they care

now, either. I think they didn't care because they didn't think about the people that

actually lived in the Tower. After the fire I have seen the way that they (RBKC) have

acted and I think it shows they didn't care and they don't care. You can't go from not

caring to caring that quickly, not after something like the fire. Their (RBKC's) behaviour

is trying to show people that they're not guilty, but it just looks like they don't care.

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15. As to the fire alarms in the flat, we had an alarm in the kitchen and another in the

corridor. They were fitted before Rosemary moved in. I don't know whether they were

heat or smoke alarms, but when we were cooking the alarm in the kitchen went off

regularly, maybe once every two weeks or so. As far as I remember we didn't test them,

but we knew that they went off regularly when we cooked so they were quite sensitive.

We'd have known very quickly if they weren't working as we cooked every day and they

would go off regularly enough that we would know if they were faulty.

Concerns about Modifications to the Tower

16. The renovations that took place shortly after Rosemary moved in made the Tower more

unsafe, for sure. Tower more unsafe, for sure.

17. Whilst Rosemary and I had concerns about the modifications to the Tower, we did not

raise it with anyone or make any complaint. The reasons we didn't voice the concerns we

had are twofold: firstly, we truly believed that they wouldn't have any effect. The Council

would have completely ignored any complaint we would have made. Secondly, and more

concerning for Rosemary and I, was a rumour that if you raised any serious concern with

the Council they would take you to Court. They would scare you into agreeing with what

they wanted to do. As far as were concerned, and as far as we were aware, the mantra

was "if you don't give us access to your house, you will be in breach of your tenancy

agreement". We were reluctant to raise any issue because we didn't want to go to Court.

We didn't have a way of fighting for ourselves. We had to take what the Council wanted

at their word, because if we didn't submit to what they wanted we would be in Court. We

didn't want that, so we kept quiet and didn't complain.

18. The front door to our flat was replaced. It was quite tight to the frame, and the door closed

properly. I can't remember whether we had an automatic door closer, or whether there

was any form of draught seal or draught excluder. I do know that when the fire happened,

there wasn't any smoke in our flat until after we had opened the door. Our door had a

letterbox on it that sprang shut, almost violently. I never had any problem with the door

itself.

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19. During the renovation works, gas pipes were installed around the frame of the front door

to our flat, going vertically up each side with a horizontal section at the top above the

door.

20. Our front room had a sliding door between the kitchen and the front room. There were

two entrances to the front room, one from the corridor and then one — sliding — door from

the kitchen to front room. There was additionally a door between the kitchen and the

corridor. The door into the living from the corridor was a light, white door with glass

panels; I never thought it was very secure and it didn't shut properly.

21.Save for the front door to the flat, every door was open all of the time. We occasionally

closed the kitchen door when we were cooking to stop the smell travelling into the rest of

flat. The bathroom door would have been open if the bathroom wasn't occupied.

22. On a couple of occasions we were told that there was going to be a cut-off to the

electricity supply to our flat, and there were, very rarely, power cuts for an hour or a

couple of hours. I don't remember the reason for those issues but we could well have

been told the reason. A company came to check the electricity meter irregularly; it was a

hassle because there were clothes in the bottom of the cupboard where the meter was, and

we'd have to remove the clothes every time someone wanted access to the meter. I don't

know of any other inspection of the electrical system in the flat other than at those times.

23 There was an extractor fan installed in the in the kitchen, which were both working

correctly and properly at the time of the fire. We couldn't smell anything else from

anyone else's flat other than my own, and we never really heard any noise either. I never

heard shouting or anyone else's voice when were inside our flat and the door was closed.

I am unsure as to whether this was because our neighbours were considerate (they

certainly kept themselves to themselves) or the design and construction of the building

and the flat was such that it insulated our flat from noise.

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24. There were exposed gas pipes all over the flat. We asked Rydons to cover them as we

had a young child in the flat. We complained to Rydons but they

were never changed and they remained exposed until the flat and the Tower burned.

Windows

25. The windows in our flat were occasionally draughty before the refurbishment work on the

windows took place a couple of years prior to the fire. After that, I remember that the

draught seemed to get better but was still present. The windows were, I believe, double

glazed so the lesser draught that remained post-refurbishment must have been coming

from underneath the window frame.

26. The windows were changed during the refurbishment but I was never too concerned with

them. To be honest, there were so many other things that we thought would have an

impact on the security, safety and comfort of the flat that we didn't consider the windows.

All I will say is that both Rosemary and I agreed they felt cheap and looked low-quality.

Lifts & Stairs

27. The lifts in the Tower were the worst. They were very unreliable and more often than

not one of them would be broken. Rarely both of them would be broken and you would

have no choice but to walk up the stairs. That was a tough walk. When they broke down,

which they often did, it would often be a number of days until they were fixed. It was a

real irritation particularly if you were in a rush or had shopping. At busy times of the day,

in which I always seemed to be coming or going, you might have to wait up to 10 or 15

minutes until a lift came for you.

28. I wasn't aware, as I am now post-fire, that you shouldn't use the lifts in the event of a fire.

Luckily it was so dark on the night and the smoke so acrid that we didn't attempt to use

the lifts. I dread to think what would have happened if we had done so.

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29. Because of the unreliability of the lifts, and how busy it could be when there was often

only one lift working, I used the stairs a good deal. Sometimes I didn't mind using the

stairs (I liked the exercise) but it was particularly difficult for my daughter.

30. The stairs were always filthy, both before and after the renovations. Sometimes you

would have to step over homeless people sleeping on the staircases, and it would be

unsurprising to find litter and excrement on them. The renovations, if anything, made the

stairwell less safe, because they put bare and exposed gas-pipes on the wall. I remember

seeing those.

31 There was a recurring problem before the renovation where the doors to enter the

staircase from the floor landings would not close properly; they would shut, and they

would latch, but even when they were closed there was still significant play and

movement if you tried to pull or push the door when it was shut. I remember that this

problem developed gradually, over time; rather than something breaking it occurred to me

that they were just old and worn out. I think that they were repaired or replaced around

the time of the renovation; I can't remember whether they were part of the actual

renovations or something that happened separately, but the problem was lessened around

the time that the Tower was renovated.

Communal Areas

32. Immediately opposite the door of the lift in the lobby area, when you walked out, there

was what I now understand as a boiler room. There was nothing there before as far as I

am aware, but there was always a door there, and it was always padlocked. After the

refurbishments that took place. I understand that there was a boiler in that room or

something similar, which was not there before the refurbishments took place. I don't

know what exactly it was but they were to do with the boiler or the utilities in some way.

I remember thinking that the combination of the gas pipes on the doorways and staircases,

and the utilities the whole Tower was a bomb waiting to explode.

33. Residents of other flats would leave their stuff outside their doorways, their childrens'

bikes or scooters, things like that. It didn't bother me because it was their house and they

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could do what they liked, so I didn't do anything about it. Apart from that, there was no

rubbish or any waste on the communal areas on my floor.

The Night of 13th June 2017

34. On the day before the fire, Tuesday 13th June 2017, I went to work as normal. I was

working on a construction project in Stratford at the time. That same day there was a fire

somewhere in Stratford. I saw it whilst I was outside, and I remember calling over to my

boss and pointing the fire out to him. I said "look, look at that, that building is on fire!" I

couldn't help but feel sorry for the people who worked or lived in that building, and it

stayed with me for the rest of the day. Little did I know that before I was supposed to go

to work the next day my house would be burned down.

35. I didn't go to the gym that evening, which I did fairly regularly in the evenings after

work, so I got home at a normal time, at about 6 or 7pm. It was a very ordinary and

normal evening; we went to bed shortly after 11pm. It was just me, Rosemary, and

in the flat. We were all in bed before midnight. It was a summer's evening, so

we had our bedroom windows open and other windows open to let some air into the flat

whilst were asleep.

The Morning of 14th June 2017

36. It was approximately 1:30am on 14th June 2017 when I first knew that something had

gone awry; I heard noise and shouting. Initially, I didn't know that it was a fire at all.

There had been a party or some other celebration on or near the walkway a couple of

nights before so there had been talking and laughing quite late into the night. As the

noise was coming from the walkway again, I thought it was another similar situation, but

I got up just to make sure

37. I was just about to go back to bed when I noticed that the noise from the walkway was not

simply celebration. The noise was loud, the voices were shrill, and the people were

clearly panicked. At this point there was no other indication of the gravity or seriousness

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of the situation; there were no smoke or heat alarms going off either from our flat or from

anywhere else, and I can't remember hearing sirens or hearing anything else that would

indicate there was a serious and incalculably dangerous situation unfolding below our

flat. There were no signs of smoke or fire inside our flat. From the hubbub of voices on

what I think was the walkway, I could just about make out someone shouting "Fire!

Fire!" It was seconds between waking up and realising that there was a fire downstairs.

38. The first place I saw any evidence of the fire was on the outside of our flat. I went into the

kitchen, and looked out of the window. It was there that I saw smoke from my 2 or 3

o'clock, to the right or top-right when I was standing at the kitchen window. I then saw

fire moving from about 9 o'clock to about 12 o'clock. At this time, we couldn't smell

smoke, but I remember being shocked by how much smoke there was on the side of the

building. Usually, you couldn't see any part of the Tower from the windows in our flat,

so when I saw so much smoke and from so many places I began to realise the danger of

the situation.

39. Almost immediately after I checked outside of the kitchen window, I went to the front

door. I opened it. It was like being punched in the face with thick, black smoke. It was

akin to opening a hot oven, this wall of heat and smoke hit you. The only light was from

the flat behind me. It illuminated only inches outside of the front door, and as soon I

opened the door thick, acrid smoke began to pour into the flat. The smell was

indescribable; it was nothing like I had smelt before. I can't think of a way to describe it,

but it smelt poisonous, dangerous. I closed the door as soon as we had opened it. I knew

that we were staring death in the face.

40. I called to Rosemary and she immediately got up and looked at what was going on.

4 I Rosemary began to put blankets around the door to prevent the smoke from coming in,

and I was throwing water on the blankets with a basin from the kitchen, which I was

filling up from the bathroom.

42. 10 — 15 minutes after we had woken up and discovered that there was a fire in Grenfell

Tower, 2 firefighters knocked on the door. We opened the door and let in 2 fire lighters

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who had banged on door. . In doing so (and in opening the door to let them out), more

smoke began to come into the flat. The fire fighters were there only for seconds,

comfortably less than a minute. They didn't tell us that everything would be fine, and

didn't tell us that the fire was under control. They told us, simply, that there was a fire in

the building. They only told us that they were coming back. They didn't tell us to leave,

or explicitly to 'stay put'. However because they told us that they were coming back we

assumed that meant we had to stay, so we did.

43 At approximately, the fire fighters came to the door again. I am not sure they were the

same two that had come previously. They knocked on the door and we let them in. As

before, as we opened the door to let them in and, shortly after, let them out again, more

smoke came into the flat. On that occasion, the two firefighters that came in told us that

our flat was either the least damaged, or the least at-risk of damage in the fire on the 14th

floor. As a result, they asked whether we would mind those people on our floor coming

into our flat. Naturally we said yes, of course. In hindsight, I can't believe that they

actually asked us! It seems such a normal thing to do, and it's a weird thought to think

that we would say no.

44. It can't be more than a couple of minutes after the firefighters came for the second time

when they came again with the people from our floor into our flat. Along with K

Rosemary and me there now was Dennis, Zainab and her infant son Jeremiah, and the

brothers Omar and Mohammed So in all there were 8 people in our flat.

45. Dennis was black all over and looked like he had been subject to a lot worse than we had

been in our flat. I sat Dennis down in the front room, and Rosemary gave him some water

and then took him to the bathroom to wash his face. Omar and Mohammed looked

terrified. Zainab was hysterical, she was inconsolable; she was saying that she had seen

young people near the bins earlier that evening. I think she was trying to imply that they

had started the fire deliberately. We were all sat in the bedroom; Dennis, Zainab and one

of the brothers were sat on the bed.

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46. When the firefighters left after dropping our neighbours off to our flat, they told us that

they would be back. Although as time went on we all began to feel more panicked and

more terrified, we thought that the only way we were going to get out was with the Fire

Brigade's help. They weren't there for long, and I cannot remember them giving us any

specific advice about what to do. They said they were going to be back, and Rosemary

and I took this to mean that we should stay where we were. I assumed from seeing the

smoke that the fire fighters were going to come back with masks, or oxygen. My biggest

fear then was that they wouldn't come back to the flat with enough equipment to help

everybody. Thinking back, I'm not sure why they didn't tell us then that our best chance

was to make a run for it.

47. In the absence of the firefighters coming back, I decided that the only way my daughter

was going to have a chance of surviving was if we tried to get out of the window. I took

all of the bed sheets from the beds, and the spare ones we had in the flat, and tied them

together to create a makeshift rope. Our neighbours began to ask what I was doing. When

I explained, the brothers told me that I shouldn't try and use the rope and that I should

wait for the fire fighters because they were going to come back and help us escape.

48. I knew that the fire had to be getting closer, so I tied the makeshift rope around the

middle metal window-surrounds. I looked out of the window and I could see that my

rope had actually got quite close to the ground. I think it may have been as close as the

second or third floor. I showed Rosemary how to lower herself on the rope, gesturing one

hand over another. I then lowered myself out of the window. I hadn't yet used the rope I

had made. I was dangling from the 14th floor, grabbing onto the window-ledge with one

arm, wilting for Rosemary to hand me K . Rosemary picked her up and was trying

to hand K to me, but K just wouldn't come out to me. She must have seen

the smoke, and how high up we were, and she just refused to come with me, kicking back

against the windowsill and crying. I thought to carry K down with me and then to

drop whilst protecting my daughter. I thought I would take the brunt of the fall from the

211d or 3'1 floor and that K had a chance if she stayed attached to me. It was a plan hatched

out of total desperation.

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49. When K wouldn't come out, there was no way I was going to leave my family in

the flat, so I wasn't going to lower only myself down. I decided to try and climb back into

the flat. I tried pulling myself back in with the window sill, but I couldn't get purchase. I

kept slipping on the cladding. It was terrifying; I thought I was going to slip, or fall to the

ground.

50. I was probably only hanging outside of the window for 40 seconds, or a minute, but it felt

like an eternity. When I was outside of the window I could see flames beneath me, and so

much smoke. I looked down and saw the fire beneath us, and saw bits of cladding falling

off and hitting the ground. Luckily, Omar or Mohammed came over to the window and he

pulled me back in. Despite the danger, and despite the fear I had felt hanging out of the

window, I was disappointed that I hadn't been able to make an attempt to get out of the

Tower with my daughter.

51. About 10 or 15 minutes after the first attempt to get out of the window, I decided to make

another attempt. This time, to avoid K refusing to get out of the window, I was

going to tie her to my back. I took some Nigerian cloth that we had in the flat, and I tied

her onto my back. Just as I was beginning to climb out of the window, the fire fighters

knocked on the door for the third time.

52. I now know, absolutely, with hindsight that there was no way I would have been able to

make it from our flat with just bed sheets. I would have died and so would K

without a doubt. I was in a totally desperate situation and I could only think at the time

that I had to try and do something even something as desperate as taking our chances on

lowering ourselves down as far as we could and then dropping.

53. It was only coincidence that the fire fighters knocked on the door. As on the first time,

although she was only 5 at the time, my daughter definitely saved my life by refusing to

come out of the window.

54. The fire fighters then came for the. They seemed a lot less calm, less assured Although

they were trying to remain calm, with panic and urgency in their voices they said

something along the lines of "Go!" The fire was in a severe way, and 1 common sense

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dictated that the fire was going to get into the flat and through the windows very soon. It

definitely seemed like an option, but to Rosemary and me, it was a matter of choices: go

through the window; make a run for it down the stairs; or die in the flat. So I grabbed

Rosemary by the hand, and with K on my back, we ran.

55. Luckily, I had just tied K to my back when the firefighters arrived and told us to

run. We left immediately, before the firefighters had left the flat; Rosemary took her

phone and we took nothing else. By the time we left the flat, there was water all over the

floor and smoke was starting to come under the front door. At the time I had no idea who

was, or wasn't, leaving with us. I now know that one of the brothers, Omar,

followed us out of the flat shortly after. All I was thinking about was getting myself and

my family out safely. I don't know whether we closed the door behind us; I don't think

we turned around after. All Rosemary had on was her nightdress. I had K tied to

my back. We didn't even have shoes on.

56. I can only speculate as to why the other people in our flat didn't leave when we did; I was

focussing on Rosemary and K , and we were in such a panic that I didn't know at

the time who was leaving when we left. I've thought about that a lot ever since and

probably always will. I think that there was a panic in the fire fighters' voices that, to us

sounded like there was no choice but to run, and to the other people in our flat it may

have sounded like walking down the stairs was unsafe. I think it's that you expect fire

fighters to be sure of themselves and to give you advice that is definite and absolute. The

way they shouted "Go!", "run!", "time to go!" or similar, was neither urgent nor definite.

I cannot remember their exact words because I was so panicked, and as soon as the fire

fighters told us, in whatever words, that we had to leave, I forgot about everything else

and just ran.

57. As soon as I walked out of the flat the thick smoke hit me. I couldn't see anything at all,

not even my feet or a hand in front of my face. It was pure black. I could hear people

screaming, desperate screams like they were trapped. The smell was indescribable, a

strong smell; it was like nothing I had ever smelt before. The most overpowering thing I

felt as soon as I walked out of the flat was the heat. It was extreme; an energy-sapping

blast of smoke and heat that hit me like! had just opened the door of an oven.

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58. It was pitch black from the moment we left the flat until we saw light on the 3rd floor. We

went straight for the stairs, touching the wall on the way there and relying on memory to

get us to the door of the stairwell. We didn't attempt to go down the lift because it was

way too dark to see anything. We also wanted to get out of the smoke as quickly as

possible.

59. We managed to reach the door to the stairwell. The door was closed, and I pushed it

open. We went down the stairs as fast as we could. We weren't able to move very

quickly because I had K on my back. I had my right hand on the banister to the

stairwell, and I held Rosemary's right hand with my left hand. I was following shortly

behind her. She kept tripping up so two or three times we had to stop and pick her up. I

think that she was tripping on people's bodies. It was horrible.

60. I didn't see anyone passing me on the stairs on the way down. I couldn't hear anyone's

voice in close proximity to where we were on the stairs; only the distant voices of people

screaming that I could hear when I left the flat initially. With the amount of people

going up and down the stairs, I do think it's weird that I didn't see or hear anyone.

61. I could feel my hope and my energy slowly sapping away as the thickness of the smoke

started to get to me. I really thought we were going to die on the stairs. I couldn't see her

because she was tied to my back, but K was struggling and wriggling behind me.

I could hear her gasping for breath and I could tell that she was really starting to struggle.

By the time I had reached the Lith or the 5th floor, I felt myself tiring as if I was going to

fall. I thought that was that. Then I saw a light from the 3rd floor and it gave me a boost. I

don't know how long it took us to leave the building. Maybe 30 seconds, maybe 90,

maybe a lot more. It felt like a very long way down.

62. We finally saw fire fighters on the 3rd floor. They untied K from my back. Because

we had tied her to my back with the intention of climbing down the building on the rope,

the knot was very tight, and it took the fire fighter some time to untie her. The fire fighter

carried K down the stairs in his arms. Rosemary was waiting for us at the ground

floor entrance. A fire fighter gave us helmets to leave the building because they told us

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that there was debris falling from the building, which I remembered from when I was

hanging from the window. It was such a blur of fear and relief that I can't remember

what the fire fighters said or even what they looked like. They took us out of the building

and toward the triage near Latimer Road Station.

63 A fire crew gave us 2 oxygen masks between the three of us, so we rotated who was using

it and when. I had a thick, black substance coming from my mouth. K was worse

than that; she kept drifting in and out of consciousness. We sat by a tree looking up at the

Tower, and I was thinking about the people that were in our flat when we left. I can only

describe it like a horror film but in real life. I could hear the sirens, the emergency

vehicles everywhere and people running around and there was this burning building in

front of me. The difference is that I used to live in it, and I knew that there were people in

there.

64. Whilst we were sitting by the tree, Omar came running over to us and asked us whether

we had seen Mohammed, his brother. We told him that we hadn't seen him. At the time

e didn't even know that Omar had made it out, and had not seen anyone else from the

flat at all

65. We were outside the Tower for about 45 minutes 1 hour before we got an ambulance to

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

66. I believe that I left the Tower, and the fire, at about 3 30am. I now understand, from

Rosemary, that she has seen a still from CCTV confirming the time she left the fire. That

still is time stamped at 2.45am. I was sure, as I am now, that it was much later than this,

at around 3.30am. I could well be incorrect in my estimations on what time we left the

Tower, but it did feel a lot later than 2.45am by the time we left the fire.

Effects of the Fire

67. I was in the hospital for 2 1/2 days, and K.M was in the hospital for 10 days, being

treated for smoke inhalation. All the staff and doctors in the hospital were exceptionally

helpful and accommodating. When I was still being treated, they would let me go and

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check on Rosemary and K , and when I was unable to leave my bed they would

give me updates on their condition. For the 10 days that K was in the hospital, the

hospital provided us with a room on-site where we stayed immediately after the fire.

68. I could smell the smoke from the building for days afterwards. To this day, I will get a

vivid memory of that smell and the whole of that evening, and the fire, will come back to

me

69. My life has been turned upside-down in the worst way possible. It has affected my life,

completely, for the worst. Some people feel sorry for you, and others simply treat you

differently. When I'm doing the things I enjoy doing, as I did before the fire, I get this

consuming feeling of guilt, that I shouldn't be enjoying myself because those people died

in my flat. I hope to get to the point where I don't feel guilty, because that's how I know

I should feel. I'm not there yet, though.

70. The biggest impact it has had on my loved ones and my family is my daughter. We went

to Disneyland for her birthday. There's an attraction there about the making of Disney

films. We were there the year before the fire and she absolutely loved it. When we went

back shortly after the fire, she reacted very badly and it made her afraid all over again.

Even the flick of a lighter scares her.

71. The fire was the realisation of my worst nightmare. Nobody should think that they are

going to die with their family in a situation like that. I am giving this statement in order to

assist the Inquiry in finding out what happened so that it may never happen again. I am

happy for the Inquiry to call on me for any further information or to provide any

clarification to the information I have given in this statement.

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72. We used the services of a drop in help centre in Portobello and Westway. The services

offered by charities and volunteers were immensely helpful and I am grateful for their

time and their kindness. Approximately 10 days after the fire, shortly before K

was discharged from hospital, I went to the centres for administrative help such as

getting another driving licence from the DVLA.

73. Since the fire, we have been in hotel accommodation and latterly we have moved into

temporary accommodation. We are still in temporary accommodation in

Both Rosemary

and I have been, and remain, very reluctant to move into another flat or high-rise since the

fire. We just can't get away from the idea that if we are in another block of flats that it

might go on fire again. We were offered a placement in which is

where I understand a lot of ex-residents of Grenfell Tower are now living. Quite apart

from that we are against the idea of living in a flat again, we don't want to live in a place

that has people from the Tower. We're not against seeing them — quite the opposite — but

if we see the same people from the Tower day-in, day-out, it will be a constant reminder

to us of the trauma and stress that we experienced on that night and afterward. After

something as tragic and life-changing at the fire, we want to make a fresh start and think

as little about the fire as possible.

74. Rosemary is now pregnant with our second child, a baby boy. We hope that he can grow

up with the love and care as we have shown each other and KIM, and move away

from the suffering we endured during fire, and ever since.

75. I hope that my statement will provide useful insight into what happened so that it may

never happen again. I do not wish anyone to experience what Rosemary and I

experienced, and nobody should ever have to go through the cruelty and pain that we

have. If the Inquiry would like any further information or clarification, I am happy to be

of as much assistance as I can. I have given a statement to the Metropolitan Police and I

confirm that I consent for it to be disclosed to the Inquiry.

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Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true. I confirm that I am willing

that the statement forms part of the evidence before the Inquiry, and may be published on the

Inquiry's website, save for redactions indicated in the text, and those applied by the Inquiry.

Signed:

Oluwaseun Talabi

Dated: 20 May 2018

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