Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MANCHESTER
FIREFIGHTERS were held back for more than two hours after the Manchester Arena bombing because of fears an armed terrorist was on the loose, a report has revealed.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service officials followed protocols which left them “outside the loop” of the police and ambulance response, according to the review published yesterday.
It also found Vodafone, which holds the Home Office contract for emergency post-disaster hotlines, had a “catastrophic” technical failure on the night.
Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured scores more when he blew himself up in the arena foyer.
The official report, led by Lord Bob Kerslake, could not say whether lives may have been saved had firefighters arrived earlier, but said frustrated crews were “brought to the point of paralysis” by their seniors’ failings.
GMFRS interim chief fire officer Dawn Docx yesterday apologised. She added: “It is clear that our response fell far short of what the people of Greater Manchester can expect. There were clearly failures in leadership and poor decisions made.
“As a result firefighters themselves, desperate on the night to attend the incident, were let down by some of their senior colleagues.”
Abedi, 22, detonated his homemade device at 10.31pm on May 22 last year as fans left Ariana Grande’s concert.
The report into the atrocity praised the work of the emergency services as “overwhelmingly positive”.
It hailed the bravery and compassion shown by many, and the support provided by family liaison officers and bereavement nurses. The review also said the removal of bodies was treated with care.
But it said while armed police and 12 ambulances were on the scene within 20 minutes, there was a shortage of stretchers to ferry the injured to a casualty area on the connected Victoria train station’s concourse. The senior fire officer on duty, a National Inter-agency Liaison Officer, believed there was an “active shooter” scenario and stuck to rules keeping emergency responders 500 metres from any suspected “hot” zone of danger from a potential armed terrorist. As a result firefighters, some of whom heard the bomb go off and were trained in first aid, were kept away from the
We are very much a learning organisation, we are not seeking a discipline route DAWN DOCX, INTERIM FIRE CHIEF, RESPONDS TO REPORT INTO ATROCITY