A team of 250 firefighters from forty fire engines attempted to control the fire and rescue people.
The first emergency services arrived six minutes after the alarm, but the fire's very high temperature slowed rescue attempts.
At 04:14, officials from the Metropolitan Police addressed the large crowd of onlookers and urgently told them to contact anyone they knew who was trapped in the building—if they are able to reach them via phone or social media—to tell them they must try to self-evacuate and not wait for the fire brigade.
Firefighters entered the building to try to rescue people but reported they were hindered by the extreme heat.
According to witnesses, there were people trapped inside, waving from windows for help, some holding children.
There were two witness accounts of parents dropping their children down to people below, including a baby who was caught after being thrown from the ninth or tenth floor, and a small boy thrown from the fifth or sixth floor.
There were also eyewitness reports that some people were jumping out.
At least one person used knotted blankets to make a rope and escape from the burning building.
Frequent explosions that were reported to be from gas lines in the building were heard.

Many residents of the tower were Muslims.
Because of Ramadan, many were awake at the late hour.
Many were able to alert residents and help them escape during the early stages of the fire, which saved many lives.
For this, they were hailed as heroes.

After three hours, the original crew of firefighters were replaced.
By sunrise, the firefighters were still battling the fire and trying to spray areas where people were seen trapped.
The watching crowd were pushed back from the building because of falling debris.
At 05:00, the building was still burning and severely damaged.
The fire continued to burn on the tower's upper floors into the afternoon of 14 June.
Firefighters were expecting to continue tackling the blaze for at least a further 24 hours.
Although fears were expressed that the building could collapse, structural engineers determined that it was not in danger and that rescue teams could enter it to search for survivors, casualties and bodies.
A team of 250 firefighters from forty fire engines attempted to control the fire and rescue people. The first emergency services arrived six minutes after the alarm, but the fire's very high temperature slowed rescue attempts. At 04:14, officials from the Metropolitan Police addressed the large crowd of onlookers and urgently told them to contact anyone they knew who was trapped in the building—if they are able to reach them via phone or social media—to tell them they must try to self-evacuate and not wait for the fire brigade. Firefighters entered the building to try to rescue people but reported they were hindered by the extreme heat. According to witnesses, there were people trapped inside, waving from windows for help, some holding children. There were two witness accounts of parents dropping their children down to people below, including a baby who was caught after being thrown from the ninth or tenth floor, and a small boy thrown from the fifth or sixth floor. There were also eyewitness reports that some people were jumping out. At least one person used knotted blankets to make a rope and escape from the burning building. Frequent explosions that were reported to be from gas lines in the building were heard.
Many residents of the tower were Muslims. Because of Ramadan, many were awake at the late hour. Many were able to alert residents and help them escape during the early stages of the fire, which saved many lives. For this, they were hailed as heroes.
After three hours, the original crew of firefighters were replaced. By sunrise, the firefighters were still battling the fire and trying to spray areas where people were seen trapped. The watching crowd were pushed back from the building because of falling debris. At 05:00, the building was still burning and severely damaged. The fire continued to burn on the tower's upper floors into the afternoon of 14 June. Firefighters were expecting to continue tackling the blaze for at least a further 24 hours. Although fears were expressed that the building could collapse, structural engineers determined that it was not in danger and that rescue teams could enter it to search for survivors, casualties and bodies.
Grenfell Tower fire