Firefighters are still dying in similar circumstances to four who perished in a huge Warwickshire warehouse blaze because of “systematic failings” union bosses have claimed.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has carried out an investigation into the deaths in 2007, when a burning warehouse in Atherstone-on-Stour collapsed, killing four firefighters.
The union said the tragedy was caused by a “catalogue of organisational systemic failings” by Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service.
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Ian Reid, John Averis, Ashley Stephens and Darren Yates-Badley, attended a fire in a vegetable packing plant on Atherstone Industrial Estate on November 2, 2007.
The huge blaze from a suspected arson attack was being tackled by more than 100 firefighters from across the Midlands when the roof collapsed, killing the four men.
Matt Wrack, FBU General Secretary, said: “The deaths of these four brave men were caused by a catalogue of systemic failings at Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service.
“The fire killed more firefighters than any other since the 1970s.
“But over the last decade, twice as many firefighters lost their lives in fires as in the previous ten years, and it’s clear that fire and rescue services and government are not learning lessons from these deaths.
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“It is appalling that firefighters are in some cases being killed in almost identical circumstances to those in which others have died.
“This is a terrible failing by those making key strategic decisions within the fire service and by central government.
“We need ministers in all four governments in the 海角视频, as well as chief fire officers, fire authority members and other politicians, to take heed of what happened at Atherstone and work with firefighters to ensure such a tragedy is not repeated.”
The FBU also said it was working with health and safety specialists from the University of Stirling to review firefighter safety and fatal incidents. The review will report later this year.
Matt Wrack said: “Firefighters and bereaved families have been asking questions for a number of years about why firefighters are being killed at incidents which the service should have planned to deal with.
“We think this highlights deep and systemic failures across the 海角视频 fire and rescue service and we are determined to get to the bottom of what is going wrong.”
In the wake of the Warwickshire tragedy a police investigation was started, with 12 arrests on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence.
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Eventually three officers were found not guilty of manslaughter, with the chairman of Warwickshire fire authority condemning the £4.5 million police investigation, and the decision to press criminal charges.
In January 2012 Warwickshire County Council entered a guilty plea at a hearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court for failing to ensure the health and safety of its employees, and was subsequently fined £30,000.
The FBU’s Fatal Accident Investigation report summary highlighted a number of what they claimed were failings.
It said there problems with assessment of risk and subsequent planning, quality of information available to the incident commander, how breathing apparatus was used and training, especially for retained part time firefighters.
A spokesman for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service said the organisation had not seen the report prior to its release, but that the “circumstances of the fire and the service at the time have already been examined in detail during legal processes that have now been concluded”.
“Today, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service is in excellent shape, as the very recent peer review report has demonstrated,” he said.
The FBU said it was working with health and safety experts to review firefighter safety and fatal incidents.