Five years ago, just ahead of the first anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, Tiago Alves entrusted The Big Issue with his story. We met in a quiet cafe in Central London. And Alves, then 21, quietly detailed the devastating night the building he had lived in since he was nine months old burned down.
Alves was at home on the 13th floor when the Grenfell Tower fire happened. Along with his neighbours, he was saved by his father’s insistence that they leave – despite the stay put policy that was in place.
As part of Grenfell United, a group of survivors and bereaved people campaigning for justice, Alves attended the inquiry every day. And he kept coming back to one phrase: “the inquiry will get to the truth”.
Now 26, Tiago Alves is still reliving the trauma of the fire. Sir
