Craig Cassidy’s story – remembering 7/7

Craig Cassidy – paramedic at Aldgate Underground Station

I was a solo paramedic on a car and on my way to a man with chest pain near Liverpool St station but driving towards it I saw a lot more people than I expected to see. I saw a fire engine so I thought a fire alarm had gone off and a building had been evacuated.

But when I was coming to Aldgate, I saw something had happened here and I pulled over. I tried to call control but couldn’t get through.

The radio system at the time was the analogue system so you could hear all the other conversations and suddenly there was all sorts of people talking over each

There were no ambulances but I could see a motorcycle paramedic at the entrance and people sitting on the floor. The station gates were partially closed but there was a stream of people coming out. Their clothing was blackened as if coming out of a fire.

I went down to the platform with the other paramedic and as we were going down a firefighter stopped us to say they believed it was safe and no more explosives. That was the first time we heard anything about explosives.

So I just took a breath and then carried on following him down to the train station.

We followed the firefighter down to the tunnel and I could see people being helped out.

From the beginning of the train you could see something had happened at the end of the second carriage. Part of the door area was missing and you could see jagged metal sticking out and that’s the point we had to get to.

What struck me was the lack of noise, all we could hear was mobile phones pinging. There was no screaming, no shouting. Everyone seemed very calm. It was really calm and eerily quiet.

Myself and the other paramedic split up – he took one side of the carriage and I went to the other side beyond the blast site. I had never dealt with anything of that magnitude but I did a quick check of the patients I could see were still alive.

Two patients had lost their lower limbs but their lives were saved by an off-duty police officer who had made tourniquets for them.

I was talking to them when we heard a whistle and we could hear a firefighter shouting everyone get out there may be a secondary device.

I’m looking at him over the top of the two people to my right who I have just spoken to and I told them it’s ok, I’m going to take care of you. I’m going to get you out of here.

I told the firefighter, well I can’t go. I’ve told them I’m going to stay with them and I’ll stay. You go and I’ll stay. There are two other firefighters in the carriage with me and they say they are staying too.

And the older firefighter he was very much, well no boss, I’ve got to stay for his safety and the other one says, I’ll stay to take care of them two.

By that point they had rescued all the people from the other end of the carriage so it just left myself, the two firefighters and our patients in the train and everyone else was walking out of the tunnel.

Then a HEMS doctor arrived and we quickly worked out what we were going to do with these patients and how we are going to get them out. The firefighters took them and the doctor and I stayed to check the people left. We knew they had died but we needed to check again. We couldn’t leave anyone behind and then we got out.

I walked about 20 feet and then realised I had left my stethoscope on the train.

I climbed back up into the train, went into the carriage and I had a pause, I looked around and thought what is this? Especially because I’m looking at the people who have died. But I knew I couldn’t do anything more for them so I grabbed my stethoscope because in my brain I’m thinking I need my stethoscope because I’ll be sent on another job later.

Being at 7/7 made me question, had I chosen the right career path? I think I was very clear that I had. I think I was exactly where I was supposed to be at that moment.