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2007

SIPTU firefighters call for independent inquiry into fatalities

Date Released: 01 Oct 2007

SIPTU firefighters are calling for an independent investigation into the fire that caused the deaths of their colleagues, Brian Murray and Mark O’Shaughnessy on Wednesday. 

The chairman of the Fulltime Firefighters National Committee, Brian Murray (no relation of the deceased), said today that it is calling for an independent investigation because neither the Health Service Executive nor Wicklow County Council “have the competencies needed to investigate this tragedy.

“Thankfully no firefighters have died in a fire since 1936 and, while there are a number of fire consultants in this country they have never had to carry out such an investigation. There are very important matters to investigate such as the adequacy of the breathing apparatus procedure, command and control procedures, had the fire authority carried out a risk assessment of the area and whether or not an adequate number of personnel were called out to deal with the fire.

“At this stage we do not know if sufficient personnel were available but we do know that there were budgetary constraints imposed on call-outs by the county council.

“The failure to implement the recommendations of the Farrell Grant Sparks report in 2003 for a properly resourced service also needs to be addressed. SIPTU participated fully in that process and our former President Des Geraghty served on the higher steering group.

“Given the circumstances it is inappropriate for a body such as the HSE or Wicklow County Council to investigate this tragedy when it has the potential to reflect badly on statutory agencies and the Government itself.

“The British Fire Brigade Union and the Home Office both have plenty of experience of conducting such investigations and the FBU has pledged us their support in helping in any way they can. An independent investigation by outside experts is essential if we are to find out what happened and ensure this tragedy is never repeated.”





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