Kiwi helps care for wounded in hotel lobby

Glen Green

When New Zealander Glen Green arrived for work at the five-star Hilton London Metropole on Edgware Rd last Thursday, there were already indications the city was under attack.

Although the TV news at 9am was saying there were possible power surges in London's underground network, Mr Green, the hotel's concierge manager, soon knew the situation was much worse.

"[Hilton security manager] Stuart Purcell had just got off the Edgware Rd tube, walked to the top of the steps, and the tube blew up in a deafening noise," Mr Green, 35, told the Herald from his London home.

The force of the blast pushed Mr Purcell off balance and he fell to the ground, spraining his left hand. When he gathered himself and tried to return to the station to help, he was blocked by a wall of black smoke. He instead ran to the Hilton.

"I then realised it was serious, a bomb, not a power surge, and London was under attack," said Mr Green, who had moved from Auckland to London three years ago with his wife Kylie and daughter Brooke.

The injured from the blast at the Edgware Rd tube station were initially taken to Marks & Spencer, a supermarket opposite the Hilton.

"They started treating the wounded but there were reports of a suspicious package and people started running. That's when myself and the security team started pulling them into the hotel."

They rushed on to the street to help, and were faced with critically injured victims trying to evacuate the supermarket.

"There was a lady with long dark hair. I went to assist her and as she turned around, I saw her face had been really badly burnt. I couldn't even tell the colour of her eyes or anything like that.

"Another man had the bottom of his trousers blown off, leaving his left leg charcoaled, and he had a bandage around his face and excessive blood in a number of places. I could see bits of shrapnel and glass in his body.

"One gentleman was saying 'those bastards' as I was helping him to the hotel."

Once back in the Hilton, Mr Green handed out fluorescent jackets, used by the hotel for evacuation purposes, to the security team and started co-ordinating his staff of concierges, porters and doormen to clear the lounge bar.

Assisted by Hilton staff, the wounded slowly made their way into the lobby and found places to rest on the floor, couches, and trolley beds being brought in by ambulance staff.

"Within the first ten minutes, the front lobby had turned into a makeshift hospital. It was set up to deal with the situation urgently.

"We just worked with the head of the ambulance and police, doing what we could to help."

Critically injured people were rushed off to hospital, but there were several seriously injured and burned people in need of attention.

"People had to put their first aid training into action very quickly. And those who hadn't been trained just did what they could.

"It was an atmosphere of shock and disbelief, trying to move people out of the way and others not understanding what had happened. It was a war-zone."

The situation eased as more medical staff arrived, and Hilton staff continued aiding and keeping the public clear of the lobby area.

"At one point we had more than 50 medical personnel in the hotel, people from the nearby hospitals pushing in trolley loads of bandages and medical equipment, priests coming in. It was a quick, co-ordinated response."

The last of the patients didn't leave the Hilton until about midday. It wasn't until later that evening that Mr Green had a reality check.

"When I saw my wife and girl and gave them a big hug, I was just so thankful to see them.

"Those victims I saw - that was you, me, my wife and my girl. It became very personal then."

The next day, Mr Green continued to take the bus and tube to work. "If you stop what you're doing, they've won. And there's a fighting spirit around London at the moment. People are back on buses and tubes. They are determined to get through this."

The Lord Mayor of Westminster, councillor Tim Joiner, visited the Hilton the following day to show his appreciation for the efforts of the Hilton staff.

But Mr Green says he, Mr Purcell, and their team did nothing heroic.

"It's just helping people out in a bad situation.

"I felt a real tug on my heart when I saw people running towards the hotel. It's hard to explain. It just takes over when you want to help, but there was a feeling of compassion for what I saw, and then a feeling of how can I help, and later that night, a feeling of anger."