Father of one Leon Whitley arrived at the “hellish” scene in West London at 1.45am and was ordered to join the search inside the building with his partner.

“It was reminiscent of the Twin Towers,” he told The Sun. “Those things go through your mind while you’re in there. We all know how that building collapsed. I thought, ‘We might not make it out this one’.”

He said it was the first time he felt scared rather than just cautious when faced with a fire.

“You start thinking about your family and loved ones, but at the same time you get stuck in because you’ve got a duty to help people.”

Mr Whitley said there was no visibility inside the building above the fourth floor, but he could hear people screaming.

“You knew everyone needed help but you couldn’t see them.”

In a post on his Facebook page, Mr Whitley said one of the reasons he told his story was “because I wanted the public to see how strenuous it is to be a firefighter at times, for my colleagues to get the respect that they deserve”.

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ALSO MISSING

Berikti and Buroke Habtom

Family members haven’t heard from Berikti and her 12-year-old son since the fire broke out. Her sister Arsiema Alula has appealed for information from the public. “Please help, they are lovely people.

Rohima Begum-Ali and children

The 31-year-old’s family fear Rohima is missing after she moved to London recently but did not tell them her new address, The Sun reports. She is missing along with her young children Maryam, 6, Hafizah, 5, and Muhammad, 3.