As the world continues to mourn the countless deaths from the Grenfell Tower disaster, one family lucky family is thankful to be alive.
Natasha Elcock, a 39-year-old John Lewis employee, was told to “stay put” when the fire started. After an hour and a half the fire brigade told her it was time to get out on her own, but it was already too late. “We tried the door but it was too hot,” she told The Sun.
Trapped on the 11th floor with her boyfriend and 6-year-old daughter, Elcock knew she had to do something fast. In a stroke of pure genius she started turning on all the faucets in her flat. “I let the bathroom flood. It kept the flat damp. It may have saved our lives,” she recalls. Water poured over her apartment soaking the floor and dampening the carpet.
“We had our little girl on the wet floor and we went to the coldest room,” she said. “The door was buckling and the windows bubbling and cracking. It was terrifying.”
Sometime after 3:00 AM the fire brigade workers reached her door and escorted Elcock’s family to safety. The brave trio was taken to the hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.
Along the way Elcock recalls stepping over a fallen body. At least 17 fatalities have been confirmed with countless other victims reported as missing. Authorities believe the death toll could be over 100, but the smoldering building is still not safe enough to conduct a proper search.