Hero father led his pregnant wife and daughters to safety
Heroic dad Marcio Gomes, 38, led his pregnant wife and the couple’s two daughters down to safety after flames began reaching the windows of their 21st floor flat.
But after reaching the lower levels, Mr Gomes realised his older daughter, 12-year-old Luana had not made it all the way down.
He left his wife Andreia and 10-year-old Megan and ran back up the stairs to find her and drag her to safety.
Marcio Gomes pictured with his pregnant wife Andreia and two daughters Megan and Luana
He said: ‘She was halfway down. She had stopped. She couldn’t move anymore and had fallen unconscious,’ he told The Sun.
Firefighters rushing up the stairwell were reportedly so disorientated that Mr Gomes had to tell them where they were in the building.
Amazingly, they managed to reach Luana and bring her down to safety.
Last night the whole family were in hospital being treated for smoke inhalation
Mrs Gomes, who is seven months pregnant, was put into a medically-induced coma to help her and the unborn child recover.
As he recovered in hospital, Mr Gomes told reporters how he had defied an emergency call handler’s instructions to stay put and ushered his family to safety after waiting two hours for help.
The operator is said to have told the family that firefighters were unable to reach their apartment – located near the very top of the building.
Aftermath of fire at 27-storey Grenfell Tower on Latimer Road in White City
Smoke apparently rushed through the door as the family left their flat, stepping blindly over bodies in a desperate bid to escape.
‘I just wrapped them all up in wet towels and sheets and said, “There’s no turning back — we have to go”.
‘We had to go down the stairs from the 21st floor. You couldn’t see anything.
'We had to step over bodies with my young daughters and my seven months pregnant wife.’
Twelve people have been confirmed dead after the blaze ripped through Grenfell Tower on the West Lancaster estate in White City, but police fear the figure will rise.
People have been pointing the blame at those responsible for the safety of the building, which had been refurbished with cladding last year.
Many residents said they did not hear a fire alarm sounding, and the Gomes family only found out about the roaring blaze at 2.30am - nearly an hour and a half after it started.
Mr Gomes was told the fire was being contained after phoning 999 a number of times.
He said: 'I told them my wife was pregnant and that we couldn’t go down — there was too much smoke.
'But they wouldn’t send anyone up. By 4.30am the flames had roared up the side of the block. Fire engulfed the whole building.'
This is when he knew he had to save his family himself.
When asked about fire safety in the tower block, which has been called into question by residents for years, he said: 'It was a shambles.'