When most students pull an all-nighter before an exam, it’s usually because they’re cramming their brains with all the material they failed to study beforehand.
London resident Rory Walsh, 18, was awake the entire night before one of the most important exams of his life, but it wasn’t to study. Instead, he was helping victims of Grenfell Tower, which was engulfed in flames.
READ: Meet the Mother Who Saved Her Family from Deadly Grenfell Fire by Flooding Her Apartment
It was about 1:45 a.m. as Walsh stood on his balcony nearby as he watched flames devour the 24-story building.
“It wasn’t normal,” Walsh told CNN. “We saw people at the window screaming. It was like something out of a film. You feel helpless watching it — but nothing is going to rebuild that.”
About 15 minutes later, Walsh and his parents were on their way to help.
Walsh’s family opened the doors to the Maxilla Social Club, a community event space they run, to the victims of the fire as a makeshift refuge.
“My dad went to the police and told them that anyone who needed help could come to our center,” Walsh said.
The faces of #GrenfellTower – Today Britain remembers those who lost their lives in the fire in west London https://t.co/qNLXyRolvE pic.twitter.com/N53g9wKico
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) June 19, 2017
It wasn’t long before the community started bringing in donations, including local Muslim residents, who offered copious amounts of food and water.
“Thank God it was Ramadan — otherwise many of those people wouldn’t have been awake,” Walsh said.
The community – with residents from numerous different backgrounds — quickly banded together with an incredible amount resolve, Walsh said. He and his parents worked throughout the night to ensure that everyone received the help they needed.
“It’s not about race or religion. If you are a neighbor, you are our family,” he said.
New footage from inside #GrenfellTower reveals scale of fire damage pic.twitter.com/CAtitxfzBM
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 19, 2017
Around 8 a.m., Walsh traveled from London to Thames College in Richmond, where he spent a couple hours taking his exams. The entire time he was anxious to get back to the center to continue helping victims, he said.
“I was just one of the unlucky students that had mine on that day,” he said of his exams.
A resident of Grenfell Tower also took exams that day, Walsh said.
After his school work was finished, Walsh went right back to the center for another night of helping victims of the devastating fire.
“I reckon if I got a C, I’d do a backflip,” Walsh said of his exam grades.
The number of people killed in the #GrenfellTower fire has risen to 79, but that figure could still change https://t.co/9HxFonU42b
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 19, 2017
On Monday, the death toll of the fire was raised to 79.
(H/T: CNN)