I

IN THE MATIER OF THE GRENFELL TOWER INQUIRY

SUPPLEMENTARY WITNESS STATEMENT OF RABIA YAHYA

I, Rabia Yahya, born 1986, previously of Flat 152 Grenfell Tower, Grenfell Road,

London, W11 1TQ WILL SAY as follows:

1. This witness statement should be read alongside my first Inquiry witness statement

dated 16 May 2018 (which I will refer to as "my first Inquiry witness statement"). The

purpose of this witness statement is to correct, clarify and add to my first Inquiry

witness statement, which was drafted, signed and submitted before the times and

transcripts of the 999 calls that I made on the night of the fire were disclosed to me;

before the times and transcripts of 999 calls made by my neighbours in flat 153 were

disclosed to me; and before I came to know that the firefighters who visited my flat on

the night of the fire were named Katie Foster and Gregory Lawson and had a chance to

read their witness statements and attend their oral evidence. I know that audio

recordings of the 999 calls I made have been disclosed to my solicitors but I have

chosen not to listen to those recordings because I think I would find it too upsetting.

First calls to emergency services on 17 June 2017

2. At paragraph 17 of my first Inquiry witness statement, I say that I first heard a

commotion outside of Grenfell Tower at about 1 a.m. on the morning of 14 June 2017

and that I looked out of the window, saw a fire appliance, and called 999 straightway. I

should add that at this stage, only the windows in my bedroom (shown in the floorplan

at Appendix I) were open. I believe the rest of the windows in the flat were closed.

When I heard the commotion outside, I went to the kitchen window, opened it and

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looked out. I did not see any smoke outside at that stage.

3. At paragraphs 17 to 20 of my first Inquiry witness statement, I describe making 2 calls

to the emergency services before Shahid Ahmed (who I knew only as "Shah") knocked

on my front door, and one 999 call shortly after Shah knocked on my door, but before

firefighters Foster and Lawson arrived at my flat. No record seems yet to have been

identified of my 999 calls made prior to Shah knocking on my door. However, I recall

making at least one, and perhaps two 999 calls in that period. I have been told that

CCTV images show my neighbours from flat 156, whose full names are Shahid and

Sayeda Ahmed, leaving Grenfell Tower at approximately 1:32 a.m., so my first 999 call

would have been before then. I remember that when I made my first 999 call on 14

June 2017, my children were still asleep.

4. I couldn't tell you exactly what I said on my first 999 call. I think I told the operator

that there seemed to be a fire in the building and they said they were aware of it, and

that it was under control. I think they told me that the fire was on the 4th floor. I can't

remember whether the operator's voice sounded male or female.

5. After that call, I woke the kids and told them to get dressed in case we had to leave the

building. My children were awake and dressed when Shah and his wife knocked on our

door. They both looked alarmed. It was Shah's wife who spoke with me. She spoke

loudly, not shouting, but as though she was panicking. She said there was a fire in the

building, and that I should get the kids and get out. I told her that I'd spoken with

emergency services and they said that I should stay put and wait. I said I couldn't take

the kids down by myself. I can't remember what they said in response to that. I can't

remember them saying that the fire was on our floor.

My Emergency Call at 1:33:55 a.m.

6. A transcript of a call from me to the emergency services at 1:33:55 a.m. (document

LFB00000662) has been shown to me and I have been told that the call lasted for 1

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minute and 21 seconds. I understand that this is the first 999 call attributed to me on 14

June 2017.

7. According to the transcript of my 999 call at 1:33:55 a.m., I tell the operator, who I

understand was Control Room Operator Angie Gotts, that there is a fire in Grenfell

Tower and that I have tried to leave the building through the fire escape but that there

is thick, black smoke in the fire escape. I don't have clear memories of this

conversation, but I believe I said that there was black smoke in the fire escape because

at some point when I was speaking with Shah's wife, Shah was standing in the

doorway to the stairwell, holding the door to the stairwell open. The doorway to the

stairwell is only a couple of metres from my front door. I was standing on my doorstep

speaking with Shah's wife and I faintly remember looking past Shah, into the stairwell,

and seeing thick, black smoke in the stairwell. I didn't walk over to or into the stairwell

though, and neither did the kids. I knew that the fire was downstairs, and I remember

thinking the fire might be in the stairwell. At that stage, as I mentioned in my first

Inquiry witness statement, there was no smoke in my flat or on the 18th floor landing.

8. I also say on the call that I am scared, and that I have three young children and am

pregnant. Ms. Gotts instructs me to stay in the flat and "block it up", to try to get some

fresh air by the window and to keep calm. She confirms that I am on the 181h floor and

says she will let the fire brigade know that I am there, Reading the transcript of this call

now, and thinking back on it, I don't feel the operator was at all reassuring and she

didn't advise me in any useful way. She was dismissive, and the transcript reads like

she was just trying to rush me off the phone, which is how I remember feeling during

the call. 999 calls are meant to be helpful, and she really just fobbed me off. The call

was only 1 minute and 21 seconds. She didn't even take my flat number or name.

Fire Spread to My Flat

9. At paragraph 22 of my first Inquiry witness statement, I say, "at around 2:40 a.m.

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sparks from the cladding started to fall onto our window ledges which led to the fire

spreading into our home very quickly. The flames came in through the kitchen

window". Up to the point that the flames spread into our flat through the kitchen

window, there was basically no smoke in the flat. Before the fire spread to our flat, I

had opened the sitting room window several times to look out, but had closed the

window after looking out.

10. I have been shown transcripts for a 999 call made by a male caller from flat 153 at

2:32:30 a.m. (document LFB00000361) and by me at 2:34:42 a.m. (document

LFB00000365) (discussed below). If the timings and content of these calls are

accurately recorded on the transcripts I have been shown, then the fire must have

spread to my flat earlier than 2:40 a.m., possibly around 2:30 a.m.

11. I go on to explain at paragraph 23 of my first Inquiry witness statement that when the

fire spread into flat 152, my children and I immediately left our flat and went to flat

153, where we found Paulos Tekle, Genet Shaw°, their children and Isaac

and their male lodger, whose name I do not know. I state that in total there

were 5 children and 4 adults in flat 153, including me and my children and that when

we arrived at flat 153, it was clear of smoke. I can't remember how the smoke

conditions changed between when we arrived in flat 153 and when we made our

escape.

12. We all gathered in the sitting room in flat 153. I don't remember us leaving the sitting

room of the flat except for just before we escaped down the stairwell. Before we made

our escape, Genet went to the linen cupboard to get towels for her family, and she and I

went into the kitchen to try to wet the towels at the tap, but there wasn't enough water

in the tap for us to wet the towels. My children already had wet towels with them when

we got to flat 153. I had wet towels for them before the fire spread to our flat, in

anticipation of having to make our escape.

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13. I now recall that the male lodger I found in flat 153 did not live in flat 153. I believe he

lived in flat 155. I think he had gone to flat 153 because his flat was on fire. I don't

know his name, but he spoke the same language as Paulos Tekle and Genet Shawo; I

know this because I heard them speaking that language while I was in flat 153. He

looked like he was in his 40s.

14. When 1 was in flat 153, 1 remember making 999 calls myself, and I remember seeing

and overhearing Paulos making 999 calls. I don't think Paulos' wife made any calls. I

can't remember whether or not the male lodger made any.

15. At paragraph 24 of my first Inquiry witness statement I say, "I would estimate that we

were in [flat 153] for about 15 to 20 minutes before we le11, and that during that time, I

telephoned 999 continuously, but they kept telling me to stay put". I have now been

shown transcripts of 999 calls that I and others in flat 153 made after my children and I

arrived there. These transcripts have helped me to better recall the events of the night.

It is not accurate to say that I was continually told to stay put by the emergency

services.

My Emergency Call at 2:34:42 a. m.

16. I have also been shown a transcript of a 999 call that I made at 2:34:42 a.m. I have

been told that the surname of the Control Room Operator who answered my call is

"Fox", that she is female, and that the duration of the call was 3 minutes and 13

seconds. According to the transcript of the call, I say that I have had to go to my

neighbour's flat because my flat is on fire. Ms Fox advises me to put damp towels

around myself and to try to safely get out of the building but I say that we can't leave

the flat because there is thick, black smoke. I also say that I'm pregnant and have

young children. I can't remember this call at all.

My Emergency Call at 2:48:22 a.m.

17. I have been shown a transcript of a 999 call made from my mobile phone at 2:48:22

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a.m. (document LFB00000384). I have been told that the surname of the Control Room

Operator who answered my call is "Howson" and that the duration of the call was 2

minutes and 11 seconds. My eldest daughter, made the call at first and then I

then took the phone from her. The transcript shows that at the end of the call, the

operator says that we had to leave the flat and that the fire brigade will not be able to

get up to us to rescue us. There is no answer from me to this advice.

18. Having read this transcript, I vaguely remember this call, and the operator saying that

no one was going to come and rescue us, but there was so much going on — Paulos was

threatening to jump out of the window, I had the kids. That's probably why I couldn't

answer after she gave her advice. Or maybe the line dropped before I could respond. I

do think that being told no one was going to rescue us impacted my decision to try to

get out; that, and Patios threatening to jump out of the window made me feel that we

had to leave. The previous call left us with some hope that someone would come for

us. This call didn't.

Escape from Grenfell Tower

19. In my first Inquiry witness statement, I say at paragraph 24 that we (meaning the 4

adults and 5 children in flat 153) left flat 153 at about 3 a.m. and at paragraph 28 I say

that I would estimate that it took us about 20 minutes to descend from the 18th floor

and escape the building. Before we went downstairs, I told the kids to hold the wet rags

that we had brought over from our flat, over their faces. I was carrying and

and were holding onto me, so I had no hands available to

cover my own face with a rag. I think that's why I inhaled so much smoke as I walked

down the stairs.

20. Since signing my first Inquiry witness statement, I have been advised that CCTV

images show Pantos Tekle and Genet Shawo being escorted from the stairwell to the

foyer of Grenfell Tower at 3:13 a.m. by a firefighter, with carried behind

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them; being carried from the stairwell to the foyer by a firefighter at 3:15:51

a.m.; being carried out of the stairwell to the foyer by a firefighter at

3:17:56 a.m.; being walked through the foyer at 3:18:58 a.m.; and me being

escorted through the foyer towards the community room by firefighters at 3:19:04 a.m.

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

( Z&- Signed: Dated • /15P//6

RATOA YAHYA

Name: Raba Yabya Date

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APPENDIX I

FLOOR PLAN, RABIA YARYA, FLAT 152, 18th FLOOR

Living RoomBedroom

(Th

Bedroom

Hallway

1 Kitchen

Cupboard [Toilet

0

Bathroom

0

Hall-

way

N

= Window

0 = Vent

\ = Standard door

— = Sliding doors

A = Extractor fan (by the window)

171 = Washing machine

= Gas cooker

= Boiler

2

3

Name: Rabia Yahya.62C

Utility

Cupboard

Flat 152, Front Door

Date 1

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