10 March 2024 , 10:26
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More than 30 Metropolitan Police officers have launched a compensation claim in the High Court for "psychiatric injuries" they suffered as they tried to rescue victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.
PC Martin Hart is one of 33 officers seeking compensation for the mental strain they suffered in the tragedy and in its aftermath. The horrific fire at the west London tower block claimed 72 lives on June 14, 2017. It is thought that 23 of the officers were among the first respondents on the scene in Ladbroke Grove.
Ten other officers were searching through the burnt-out building in the days and weeks after the blaze as part of a criminal investigation launched by Scotland Yard. The officers - including six who have since retired from the Met - are suing 12 separate parties including the Met commissioner, the London fire commissioner, Kensington and Chelsea council and several private companies involved in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower in highly flammable cladding.
The blaze claimed 72 lives (AFP/Getty Images)According to The Sunday Times, lawyers could reach an out-of-court settlement worth millions of pounds. In a police witness statement, PC Heart recalled: "I considered the horrific choice so many people would have to make between burning to death and jumping to almost certain death.
"I thought about the possibility of parents being trapped inside and having to look at their children, knowing that they could not get them to safety and praying for rescue. These thoughts made me feel sick, and when I looked at the male on the ground in front of me, I knew that what he must have been through must have been unthinkable."
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But the officers' decision to sue for damages has angered some of the survivors of the fire and their bereaved families who feel their loved ones were failed by the emergency services. A separate claim involving 900 bereaved relatives, survivors and other local residents was settled for £150million in May last year.
Firefighters gather next to the Grenfell Tower in west London (Getty Images)It comes after the Mirror reported that firefighters and call handlers shattered by the Grenfell tragedy have taken more than 6,000 days off due to the psychological damage. Union bosses say the inferno left many workers traumatised. Twenty firefighters and three control room staff were diagnosed with PTSD – with 10 workers retired as a result.
Over 250 firefighters tackled the blaze, which started in a faulty fridge and spread to highly flammable cladding on the 24-storey tower in Kensington. Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack said: "The tragedy of Grenfell has left many firefighters traumatised. They worked through the night to rescue people from a fire that should never have been allowed to happen."
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal the blaze has cost 5,750 working days due to firefighters suffering PTSD. Another 446 days have been lost from 999 control room staff also suffering from trauma.
Firefighters inspect the remains of Grenfell Tower after the blaze (AFP via Getty Images)Some call handlers had to deal with pleas for help from people told to remain in their flats under a controversial "stay put" policy. Staff who had counselling after the horror included then London Fire Brigade commissioner Dany Cotton. Aalya Moses, 63, who lived on Grenfell's fourth floor, said: "Firefighters took the brunt. They were the ones to help us when no one else was.
"I've spoken to a couple and what they experienced was unbelievably traumatic. They have suffered so much." Mr Wrack added: "The Grenfell fire was caused by decades of deregulation, privatisation and profit being put before safety.
"Firefighters stand with the bereaved, survivors and residents yet to see justice. The Government and employers must ensure all who continue to suffer are provided with ongoing support. Firefighters are now working under intense pressure due to cuts. We need urgent investment to safeguard mental health."