A fire chief who broke down during today’s session after struggling to re-watch videos of the tower on fire is also a hero of the Parson’s Green terror attack.
Michael Dowden was the watch manager at North Kensington fire station during the Grenfell Fire tragedy in which more than 70 people died.
Mr Dowden, a firefighter with London Fire Brigade (LFB) for 14 years, was the first fire brigade incident commander sent to the tower in Ladbroke Grove in June 2017.
Michael Dowden (left) can be seen turning his head away from the television as clips from the night of the fire are played back on the screen
During the Parson’s Green attack, he was on the train at the time an explosive device detonated and ‘stayed on scene ensuring other passengers were evacuated to safety, made contact with station staff and also provided valuable information to the first arriving emergency services’ London Fire Brigade said.
Giving evidence to the inquiry, he admitted to being out of his ‘comfort zone’ dealing with the fire, was shown clips shot by members of the public and was questioned as part of the ongoing inquiry into the tragic incident which killed more than 70 people last year.
Shortly after the lunch break earlier today, Dowden was shown a particularly distressing video of a person shouting ‘get out of the tower’.
The footage, shot by a member of the public at around 1.20am, showed the flames engulfing the cladding outside the building. Dowden was seen turning his head away from the television screen which showed the horrific scenes.
As the clip finished, Dowden was heard signalling for a break as he is asked a question by counsel to the probe Richard Millett QC.
In March this year Mr Dowden was presented a commendation for bravery during the Parsons Green terror attack.
The decorated watch commander, who once worked in Chiswick for LFB, also received a Borough Commander’s Letter of Congratulations in 2017 for his actions during a house fire in 2016.
Mr Dowden was travelling on the train in which an explosive device was detonated at Parson’s Green. He ensured other passengers were evacuated, made contact with station staff and helped emergency services arriving at the scene
The decorated watch commander, who once worked in Chiswick for LFB, was commended for his action during the Parson’s Greeen attack
Mr Dowden has been questioned at the Grenfell tribunal over why he chose not to abandon the ‘stay put’ policy.
Residents were told to remain inside their flats but a mass evacuation may have saved some, an official report concluded.
Mr Dowden admitted he had never seen a fire like Grenfell where the building burned on the outside and said that he was ‘out of his comfort zone’.
Since the fire the crew, including Mr Dowden, have raised more than £50,000 for charity Kids on the Green, in honour of the victims of Grenfell.
The chair of the inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick then calls for a halt to proceedings and can be heard asking ‘is five minutes alright?’, before Mr Millett QC said: ‘Maybe Mr Dowden wants a little longer.’
In a strained voice which clearly highlighted the pain felt by the firefighter, he replied: ‘Ten, please.’
The hearing did not resume for around 35 minutes despite only being due to last ten.
Throughout today’s hearing, Mr Dowden deliberated hard before answering questions on his response to the fire, some of which he looked pained to answer.
As members of the inquiry and the audience made their way back into the room for the continuation of today’s hearing, Sir Moore-Bick made it clear as to what caused the temporary delay.
Sir Moore-Bick told the people filtering back into the room: ‘Ladies and gentlemen I’m sorry that the break has been rather longer than I had originally indicated it would be.
‘It won’t have escaped anyone’s attention that Mr Dowden is finding giving this part of his evidence very difficult and in particular when he is asked to view the film of the fire itself.
The head of the Grenfell Inquiry, Sir Martin Moore-Bick declared that Mr Dowden struggled to watch videos of the tower alight
‘But he is now ready to go on and we will go on.’
Prior to the break, Mr Dowden said the time he began to feel ‘uncomfortable’ about the fire was around 1.16am.
He said: ‘I knew there was a (breathing apparatus) team inside the compartment and I couldn’t understand why that wasn’t being suppressed.’
Mr Millett again referred to the footage from 1.12am which showed embers falling, and probed him as to whether he realised material was coming away from the building.
The officer replied: ‘The decision and choices… they had to be very, very quick – I didn’t have the benefit to work from a timeline.’
‘I didn’t know at that point what I know now, in terms of flammable cladding, the ACM cladding.
‘If we were aware of that risk and that hazard at that point as we are now as an organisation we would have put things in place, but I wasn’t aware of this cladding material put on to the external envelope of the building.’
The inquiry heard that crew manager Christopher Secrett had radioed in to say the fire on the fourth floor flat where the blaze started had been put out.
Mr Secrett also urged Mr Dowden to ‘slow down’ because he said the fire inside the flat was out, although Mr Dowden said there was ‘no way’ he listened to that advice.
Richard Millett QC was questioning Mr Dowden regarding the events of the night
Mr Dowden said: ‘From what I could see on the outside that wasn’t happening’. The fire was ‘sparking and spitting’ at this stage, the inquiry was told.
Pressed on why he had not felt reassured, he continued: ‘A lot of what we do as firefighters and officers – obviously we have policies we refer to – but a lot of what we do and the instantaneous, that split-second decision-making, is based on previous knowledge.
‘I had no previous knowledge on how that building was reacting, I had nothing to fall back on, no default in terms of my own previous knowledge about how that building was reacting at that moment in time.
‘I did feel out of my comfort zone because I didn’t have any previous experience to fall back on in terms of how that building was behaving and reacting.’
The victims of Grenfell: Seventy-two people perished in the Grenfell Tower tragedy in June 2017
Mr Millett asked whether officer felt the need to evacuate at 1.19am, where footage from shot from outside the tower shows fire making its way up the cladding.
Mr Dowden said: ‘At that moment in time, things are rapidly developing and it is a very, very dynamic situation… I wasn’t aware what was happening internally in the building.
‘I have never seen anything like that but it was almost like I was consumed by that because of the sensory overload.’
Mr Millett asked: ‘Did you think you could contain that exterior fire spread?’
The officer replied: ‘From some of the decisions I took a bit later on, I would say yes.’
The inquiry continues.
Grenfell fire chief Michael Dowden was also hero of Parsons Green terror attack
Borough Commander GM Sutcliff presents a commendation to Mike Dowden of North Kensington Red Watch for his bravery at the Parsons Green attack
Michael Dowden was the watch manager at North Kensington fire station during the Grenfell Fire tragedy in which more than 70 people died.
Mr Dowden, a firefighter with London Fire Brigade (LFB) for 14 years, was the first fire brigade incident commander sent to the tower in Ladbroke Grove in June 2017.
In March this year Mr Dowden was presented a commendation for bravery during the Parsons Green terror attack.
He was on the train at the time an explosive device detonated and ‘stayed on scene ensuring other passengers were evacuated to safety, made contact with station staff and also provided valuable information to the first arriving emergency services’ London Fire Brigade said.
The decorated watch commander, who once worked in Chiswick for LFB, also received a Borough Commander’s Letter of Congratulations in 2017 for his actions during a house fire in 2016.
Mr Dowden has been questioned at the Grenfell tribunal over why he chose not to abandon the ‘stay put’ policy.
Residents were told to remain inside their flats but a mass evacuation may have saved some, an official report concluded.
Mr Dowden admitted he had never seen a fire like Grenfell where the building burned on the outside and said that he was ‘out of his comfort zone’.
Since the fire the crew, including Mr Dowden, have raised more than £50,000 for charity Kids on the Green, in honour of the victims of Grenfell.