Grenfell Tower: Fire officer Debbie Lamprell died trying to save others

Debbie Lamprell was described by her friend as a "caring, considerate person who did her best to the end"

A fire and safety officer who lived in Grenfell Tower was still trying to keep people safe when she died.

Debbie Lamprell and 12 other people, including a baby, went to the top floor of the block when the fire broke out, in accordance with the Stay Put policy.

Transcripts from London Fire Brigade show she had a lengthy call with the emergency operators.

A friend said her actions "form part of her legacy", as a "caring, considerate person who did her best to the end".

Michael Volpe said Ms Lamprell, 45, had passed on advice to others about how to cope with the smoke, just as she would have done at work.

• What happened at Grenfell Tower?

• Listen: The Grenfell Tower Inquiry with Eddie Mair

• Why was 'stay put' advice so disastrous?

Speaking on the fifth anniversary of the fire which killed 72 people, Mr Volpe said: "We do know that on that night Debbie was in a room with several people and in a sense playing that role.

"So right at the end, even though she was frightened, she was calm and trying to give advice in a terrifying situation."

When hope was lost that she had survived the blaze, Mr Volpe, a former Opera Holland Park (OHP) general director, where Ms Lamprell worked, broke the news to colleagues.

They held a private memorial ceremony with her mother, Miriam.

Mr Volpe, who is in regular contact with Miriam, said she finds it impossible to speak publicly because she is "broken" and gets "completely torn to pieces" every time she speaks about the loss of her only daughter.

A memorial stone has been placed at Opera Holland Park, where Debbie Lamprell worked

Her grief has never lessened and "today feels the same as the day after for her", Mr Volpe said.

He said Miriam was "terribly worried she won't live to see justice" for her only child.

Remembering Ms Lamprell, Mr Volpe said she was a popular member of staff at the theatre and was "always smiling and straightforward", so if she saw hazards "she would come marching up to the boss and say 'this has got to be dealt with'".

At the ongoing inquiry into what happened, Mr Volpe read a tribute to Ms Lamprell on behalf of her mother.

He said the inquiry was diligently exposing "errors, malpractice and rapacious greed" but few people were watching it and there was a "gnawing feeling in Miriam's mind that it's getting forgotten".

Although he was keen to stress he does not speak for all Grenfell survivors, Mr Volpe said he and Miriam were furious the inquiry recommendations around changing the Stay Put policy, particularly the Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans for disabled people (PEEPs), had not been fully implemented by the government.

Messages were left on a wall to the 72 people who died in the fire

"The inquiry recommended PEEPs as an absolute but because the property industry says that will be too expensive they've ignored a life-saving recommendation," he said.

"Someone got on a plane years ago with explosives in their shoe and the whole world changed because of that, but we have literally thousands of people at risk of death but the government is paying more attention to donors and lobbyists."

A Home Office spokeswoman said it had instead launched a new consultation to arrange an "alternative package" to PEEPs.

She said one option included to tell firefighters where vulnerable people live and designate a resident to look after fire safety in the highest risk buildings.

"Our fire reforms will go further than ever before to protect vulnerable people," she added.

"The Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing package we are consulting on would require those responsible for fire safety in higher risk buildings to properly assess the needs of the most vulnerable and take steps to mitigate any risks."

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