Very sad about the firefighters who lost their lives.?

Question

I repeat for those not listening there was no info or evidence to suggest that anyone was inside.

My question is this why on earth were these men ordered to enter an unsafe building, when it was known it was unnocupied, there was no reason to enter, the fire could have been tackled from a safe distance. the leading fire officer has a lot to answer, a dead hero is not a hero. I demand i repeat demand a full investigation.

heads should roll on this one

there was no evidence to say anyone was trapped at all

Answer 1

It was very sad, yes.

Answer 2

Yes, a tragedy, especially for those of us in or have been in the Fire Service.
1) It should be remembered that a fireman's duty is first to save life and then to mitigate damage.
2) An appraisal of the situation had to be made.
3) It is no good just throwing water onto a roof, as this is designed to repel water.
4) Entering a building such as this is a necessary part of the assessment.

I have been on the fourth floor of a hotel searching for four unaccounted persons when the roof collapsed. Fortunately there were no injuries sustained but there may have been when it was discovered that the persons concerned were outside watching the "fun" of a 20 pump fire.

Answer 3

As an ex fireman I can assure you that an on the spot risk assessment would have been made before entering the building.

There may have been reports or even evidence that people may have been trapped inside and so they would enter.

How would you feel if there was a relative of yours trapped inside and they hadn't gone in.

Try and imagine the scene, arriving at a huge factory that is well alight in the darkness with people coming from all angles screaming at you.

There is only a certain amount of time to get a potential entrapment out of a burning building and these heros unfortunately made the decision to go in and paid with their lives.

It's a tragedy but a job with high risks at all times.

Answer 4

I am a retired fireman and we were told never to believe that a premises was unoccupied, even if informed. I went to a fire and we were told all the occupants were out of the house. However, the teenage daughter, (her parents told us that she had gone to the swimming baths), was when we searched the gutted house, found dead in her bedroom from smoke inhalation.

It's a catch twenty-two situation. If these men had not entered the building and later a body was discovered there would have been an enquiry into why they hadn't searched the premises?

Answer 5

There are many fires and many fires in which firefighters have lost their lives. You have said nothing about which fire this was, so it is impossible to form any conclusions. When there is good reason to believe there are people trapped it is reasonable that firefighters would be ordered in. When there is no such belief it may be irresponsible to do so, depending on the nature of the fire.

Your initial question is "Very sad about the firefighters who lose their lives.?" (sic) The only answer to that is "Yes, sure: I am sad about them, but I have no idea who they were, where it happened, or what the circumstances were."

Answer 6

Just like Neston and Roddy I`ve been there too. We were told the building had been evacuated but 1 person was unaccounted for. 4 BA teams were sent into a factory of burning, smouldering rags to search for the bloke, who was stood across the road outside the pub watching the fire.
From press reports in todays papers it was thought that the off duty workers were sleeping in the factory, and hence not on the roll call.
Until the full report is published, lets not criticise anyone but focus our thoughts on the families of the lads that perished, their watch colleagues and the Brigade as a whole.

Answer 7

There will automatically be a full enquiry. Sadly in situations such as this, the lead person has to make a judgement call, and because of the risks to life the decisions often have to made quickly - without having been there, we don't know what information was available at the time the decision was taken. My heart goes out to all involved and their families

Answer 8

This is a salutory reminder that these guys risk their lives on a daily basis - and get very little pay or recognition for it until one of them doesn't get out of a building alive.

They don't only go in when people are suspected of being trapped; they also enter if dangerous chemicals etc are risking the lives of the immediate community.

I hope they catch the *unmentionable* who set the fire.

Answer 9

Ahh its been confirmed they are dead then? Very sad. I understand they went into the building because they believed there were persons trapped.


EDIT : Just been talking to someone who knows some of these people and apparently it was well known that some of the immigrants that worked in this factory slept there as well. I suspect thats why the firemen went in.

Answer 10

This job, like the police the armed forces etc etc is at times dangerous, we can try to safeguard these people to a point but at the end of the day sometimes they just do it and are very brave for that this is why we are saved at times from horrible circumstances this i have witnessed not happening in certain other countries, so i say well done and send my sympathies to the families, and urge people to remember POPPY DAY is soon!!!

Answer 11

I t just said on the news that ,the fire was deliberately started
what a waste of life.