Britain's government has ordered checks at tower blocks that have had or are going through similar refurbishments to the high-rise apartment building gutted by a huge fire Wednesday, amid concerns that building renovations may have contributed to the spread of the blaze.
A thick plume of smoke could be seen for miles around, while witnesses reported people jumping from the 24-story building after being trapped by the advancing flames.
Anywhere from 400 to 600 people lived in the Tower, which had 120 apartments.
"We saw the people screaming", she said.
"Crews wearing breathing apparatus and extended duration breathing apparatus have been working in extremely challenging and hard conditions to rescue people and bring this major fire under control", Cotton said.
London police said six people were confirmed dead, but expected the toll to rise, while ambulance services said they had taken 50 people to five area hospitals.
The fire brigade says a structural engineer and expert crews believe the building is not in danger of collapsing.
More than 200 firefighters, backed up by 40 fire engines, fought for hours to try to control the blaze, London's deadliest in a generation.
Police commander Stuart Cundy said Wednesday he did not anticipate further survivors.
There have been calls for a major investigation amid questions about how the fire spread so rapidly through the block.
The local Grenfell Action Group had claimed, before and during the refurbishment, that the block constituted a fire risk and residents had warned that access to the site for emergency vehicles was "severely restricted".
"There are still pockets of fire yet to be extinguished in particularly hard areas to reach", he said, adding his officers will carry on their work on the site overnight.
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"All our warnings fell on deaf ears and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable", the group said after the fire broke out. Residents who complained about the cladding were told by the contractor it met proper safety regulations.
Prime Minister Theresa May was said to be "deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life" and newly appointed police and fire minister Nick Hurd will chair a meeting of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat to co-ordinate the response.
"By the time that we got downstairs, the fire had gone all the way up and it was just about reaching our windows on the 17th floor". There were reports that some residents threw themselves out of windows to escape the flames. "In my 29 years of being a firefighter I have never, ever seen anything of this scale".
The cause of the fire is not known at this stage, the Fire Brigade said.
Samira Lamrani, a witness, said a woman dropped a baby from a window on the ninth or 10th floor to people on the sidewalk.
Falisa Peoples was just leaving the YMCA next to the ball field when she saw the shooter open fire.
Local councillor Judith Blakeman, who lives opposite the tower, rushed outside when she heard about the blaze at 5am.
"It is important that residents are familiar with the procedures and fire safety plan for their building and that they follow these instructions in an event of a fire".
Edward Daffarn, a 55-year-old who lived on the building's 16th floor, said the fire alarm didn't ring.
"There will be a great many questions over the coming days as to the cause of this tragedy and I want to reassure Londoners that we will get all the answers", Khan said.
"People were starting to appear at the windows, frantically banging and screaming", she said.
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