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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/31/grenfell-fire-pensioner-rehoused-after-having-heart-attack-at-old-flat
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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Grenfell fire: pensioner who had heart attack visiting flat rehoused | Grenfell fire: pensioner who had heart attack visiting flat rehoused |
| (21 days later) | |
| A pensioner who suffered a heart attack while visiting the bedsit he can no longer live in directly opposite Grenfell Tower has been offered a new home after his plight was revealed in the Guardian. | A pensioner who suffered a heart attack while visiting the bedsit he can no longer live in directly opposite Grenfell Tower has been offered a new home after his plight was revealed in the Guardian. |
| Winston Dowarris, 69, was woken on the night of the fire by bits of cladding and other debris blowing into his bedroom through an open window. | Winston Dowarris, 69, was woken on the night of the fire by bits of cladding and other debris blowing into his bedroom through an open window. |
| His bedsit on Hurstway Walk is so close to Grenfell Tower that he witnessed at close range people trapped inside their flats as the blaze swept through the building. As the fire took hold, he spoke on the phone to a childhood friend who later died in the fire. | His bedsit on Hurstway Walk is so close to Grenfell Tower that he witnessed at close range people trapped inside their flats as the blaze swept through the building. As the fire took hold, he spoke on the phone to a childhood friend who later died in the fire. |
| Dowarris, who has skin cancer, is too traumatised by what he witnessed that night to continue living there. Instead, he has spent the last seven months sleeping on various friends’ sofas. | Dowarris, who has skin cancer, is too traumatised by what he witnessed that night to continue living there. Instead, he has spent the last seven months sleeping on various friends’ sofas. |
| He and his oncologist made repeated requests to Kensington and Chelsea council to rehouse him before the fire for health reasons. He also approached the council six times after the fire asking for help with housing but was not offered any alternative to his cramped bedsit looking directly at the burned-out shell of the tower. | He and his oncologist made repeated requests to Kensington and Chelsea council to rehouse him before the fire for health reasons. He also approached the council six times after the fire asking for help with housing but was not offered any alternative to his cramped bedsit looking directly at the burned-out shell of the tower. |
| While visiting the flat to collect his post last Friday, Dowarris collapsed in pain. He managed to contact a friend, who called 999. He was taken to Hammersmith hospital where he underwent an emergency angioplasty, discharged on Sunday evening and continued to sleep on a friend’s sofa. | While visiting the flat to collect his post last Friday, Dowarris collapsed in pain. He managed to contact a friend, who called 999. He was taken to Hammersmith hospital where he underwent an emergency angioplasty, discharged on Sunday evening and continued to sleep on a friend’s sofa. |
| I can relax and be comfortable at last | I can relax and be comfortable at last |
| The former painter and decorator has been suffering from panic attacks and flashbacks since the fire. He said he was overcome by a panic attack as he approached his flat on Friday and believes this is what caused his heart attack. | The former painter and decorator has been suffering from panic attacks and flashbacks since the fire. He said he was overcome by a panic attack as he approached his flat on Friday and believes this is what caused his heart attack. |
| After the Guardian reported his case, Kensington and Chelsea council offered him accommodation suitable for his health needs on Wednesday – a ground floor flat in the Queensway area, not too far from his support network but not too close to Grenfell to trigger more panic attacks. | After the Guardian reported his case, Kensington and Chelsea council offered him accommodation suitable for his health needs on Wednesday – a ground floor flat in the Queensway area, not too far from his support network but not too close to Grenfell to trigger more panic attacks. |
| “The council has offered me a very good place and I accepted it on the spot, this afternoon,” Dowarris said. | “The council has offered me a very good place and I accepted it on the spot, this afternoon,” Dowarris said. |
| “I can move in on Friday and I’ll no longer have to duck and dive on friends’ sofas. I can relax and be comfortable at last. My mind feels much freer now I know I have a home. | “I can move in on Friday and I’ll no longer have to duck and dive on friends’ sofas. I can relax and be comfortable at last. My mind feels much freer now I know I have a home. |
| “I don’t know how much time I’ve got left because of my various health problems but at least now I can live out the rest of my days in a secure and comfortable place surrounded by my children and grandchildren.” | “I don’t know how much time I’ve got left because of my various health problems but at least now I can live out the rest of my days in a secure and comfortable place surrounded by my children and grandchildren.” |
| The council announced on Tuesday that 242 households whose homes looked directly at Grenfell Tower and who witnessed the fire, will be fast-tracked for new homes as part of a plan to move people out of hotels and into permanent accommodation. | The council announced on Tuesday that 242 households whose homes looked directly at Grenfell Tower and who witnessed the fire, will be fast-tracked for new homes as part of a plan to move people out of hotels and into permanent accommodation. |
| Grenfell Tower fire | Grenfell Tower fire |
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