{UAH} Grenfell Tower fire: Muslims who were still awake because of Ramadan saved residents’ lives
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Grenfell Tower fire: Muslims who were still awake because of Ramadan saved residents' lives
Muslim residents in the Grenfell Tower saved lives as they were awake at the time of the huge blaze because of Ramadan.
They were among the first in the 24-storey building to alert other residents as it became engulfed in flames – the fire was first reported at about 1.15am on Wednesday.
The Metropolitan Police has said there are six people confirmed dead in the fire, but that it expects that number to rise.
A witness said that Muslim residents banged on the doors of neighbours and helped guide them to safety out of the tower.
Local resident Rashida told Sky News: 'Most Muslims now observing Ramadan will normally not go to bed until about 2am, maybe 2.30am.
'Until they have their late night last meal. They do their last prayer.
'So most of the families around here would have been awake and I think even with the noise with the helicopters, it would have brought a lot of attention to a lot of residents – non-Muslim as well – that would have thought something's going on that's not quite normal.'
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Rashida added: 'It's a very diverse area, we have all nationalities, all religions.
'You can walk around safely late at night… we all know each other.
"We all know each other, there is a very high population of Moroccans, and for some reason we all live close to each other. Literally everyone knows each other."
Some residents who did escape said they weren't woken up by the fire alarms in the building because they were too quiet.
Nadia Yousuf, 29, told BuzzFeed that Muslim residents were among the first to notice the fire.
'They saw it just after they woke up to eat', she said.
Andre Barroso, 33, told The Independent: 'Muslims played a big part in getting a lot of people out.
'Most of the people I could see were Muslim. They have also been providing food and clothes.'
'Everybody was hands on. It was wonderful to see everyone come together.'
A man known as Michael told Sky News that he saved a young girl from the fire.
'I wasn't woken up by the alarms at all, they were very very quiet the alarm,' he said.
'I was in bed, and I was on the verge of falling asleep and I smelt plastic. I woke up and looked around the flat, checked the plugs, everything was okay.
'I went to the window to smoke a cigarette, I opened the window, and I heard someone saying, "It's getting bigger, its getting bigger".
'So, I've got out to the hallway, I've looked through the spy hole, I've seen smoke everywhere, Ive opened the door and the neighbours were there.
'People screaming, there were firemen saying, "Get down the stairs". I've grabbed the little girl, I've grabbed my girlfriend, just in a pair of boxer shorts and a dressing gown, someone gave me these clothes, and this is it and now we are here.'
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