The Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has released its report on a fire that killed two of its firefighters in 2010, two months after the Coroner’s report was published.
The latest report paints a detailed picture of the tragic events and circumstances that led to the deaths of Jim Shears and Alan Bannon on 6 April 2010.
The Health and Safety Executive confirmed in a letter contained in the report that it was “highly likely” health and safety legislation breaches had occurred, though no “single act or omission” could be said to have caused the deaths.
The HSE also confirmed that it felt, although there were breaches, it would not be in the public interest to pursue prosecutions. Many of the decisions that night were taken “on the spur of the moment in stressful and sometimes frenetic situations, amidst an unfolding dangerous situation.”
The report included the HSE’s full list of 49 recommendations to the coroner, alongside the 99 Hampshire Fire and Rescue Services recommendations, many of which have been acted on already, covering issues including communications, operational procedures, breathing apparatus, and incident command and control.
The HSE praised the fire service, the Fire Brigades Union, and other interested parties for their patience and cooperation, and it recognised the “desire and willingness by all parties” to work together in ensuring a thorough investigation.
The Hampshire FRS has made it clear that it wants people to learn from the tragedy. Chief Officer John Bonney said in a press release:
The release of our final investigation report into Shirley Towers represents a significant landmark for us. The investigation work that has taken place in the last three years since the incident has required us to be open and honest with ourselves and this has at times been painful and challenging. But it was vital to ensure that we were able to learn from the event so thatthe safety of the public, as well as firefighters, could be improved.
The report is to be circulated amongst all of the UK’s fire services, and a double DVD has been produced to help share the lessons from the blaze. The report and the DVD have been sent to local authorities and the secretaries of state for housing, fire and communities, and local government.
Bonnet also said in the release:
We continue to support families of Jim and Alan and this report and DVD follows our commitment to them to reduce the chances of a similar tragedy in the future.
The Coroner made a number of recommendations following the inquest calling for action from Government. Our report echoes many of these findings and we will do everything in our power to ensure they are acted upon.
The full Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service report is available online now.
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Rob, let hope and see if all the recommendations will be acted upon. Only tell could tell.
seems like a lot of fire related incidents are taking place lately. Wish we learn about the mistakes and prevent them in the future.
It’s sad to see the damage that fires like this have caused. However, people should treat these as learning experiences and learn from what happened, instead of just moving forward and pretending that it never happened.