London apartment blaze: Firefighter's despair he 'could have done more'

  • 18/06/2017

A firefighter who battled an intense blaze devouring a 24-storey apartment building in London has been left wishing he did more.

Fifty-eight people are confirmed missing, suspected dead, in the fire at the Grenfell Tower, with that number expected to rise.

Firefighters raged against the inferno for more than 24 hours and the frantic fight has left its mark.

"You feel useless and helpless," firefighter Damian Magee told Sky News.

"I know that they are looking at us to save them. Everybody is... It's not to say it is unfair on us but I mean, we were put in a situation...

"People need to know that we can't... Our ladders don't go that high."

Mr Magee said he can remember hearing residents screaming - including children.

"They probably had some sort of hope when they'd seen all the fire brigade going down there, like you would do, for us to get in and to help them."

He's been left with the feeling he could have done more to save people, saying he'd do things differently if he could go back.

"I would break the rules more than what I would have done," he said.

"Yeah, there is a few things that I wish that I probably done or could have done more."

The blame for the fire has been the subject of a heated debate, with accusations the block was clad in panels known to be a fire risk.

Newshub.