BOMB HELL BLUNDERS
» Firefighters kept back for 2hrs over terrorist protocols » Vodafone’s ‘catastrophic’ technical failure hit hotline
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
to the “immense frustration on the firefighters’ faces”. Instead, crews and a special response team, trained to deal with terrorist incidents, were at a fire station outside the city centre.
And when a joint strategic co-ordinating group of emergency response services gathered at Greater Manchester Police HQ in East Manchester, Peter O’Reilly – then GMFRS fire chief – had his senior officers at their own HQ in Salford.
The 226-page report said poor communication between GMP and GMFRS meant “valuable” assistance of fire crews was delayed by two hours and six minutes after the attack.
Lord Kerslake described fire chiefs’ as “extraordinary”. The report also said Vodafone’s failing meant no fully functioning number could be set up for people desperately searching for information about the bombing.
Vodafone told the BBC it had undertaken a major system upgrade and apologised for the distress caused.
The report also highlighted concern over delays in mental health treatment and the alleged hounding of victims’ families by some journalists.
Mr O’Reilly, on £155,000 a year, has since retired. He kept his pension and did not face disciplinary action.
Ms Docx said yesterday: “We are very much a learning organisation. We are not seeking to go down a disciscene, pline route.” Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who commissioned the report, said no individual should bear all responsibility for failures, nor should be “scapegoated”.
But he said he would address the report’s recommendations, which include better joint working between GMFRS and other organisations.
He also announced that a “root and branch” review of brigade policies, leadership and culture was under way.
Mr Burnham said GMFRS worked under a more rigid command structure than other emergency agencies, partly due to safety protocol coming from attending dangerous incidents.
As a result, it does not allow “discrefailures tion” in decision-making. The mayor said: “That’s the culture being challenged and that we need to reflect on.”
The report panel’s verdict on whether lives may have been jeopardised by the fire service’s arrival time said: “This is a question that only the coronial inquests can decide.”
But it hailed officers from British Transport Police, rail staff, arena security, paramedics and members of the public who ran straight into danger.
The panel also praised GMP’s duty officer, who made a “life or death” decision to keep first responders at the scene, rather than evacuate in the face of a possible further attack.
Last night the mum of blast victim Martyn Hett, 29, backed the report. Figen Murray said: “I think our voice has been heard. Each family was carefully consulted. It was very respectful.
“Nothing in the report is a surprise for me, though, even the stuff with the fire service. That was known. For us as a family, [it] was neither here nor there because Martyn died instantly.
“But I understand the frustration of other families who may have had injured people who needed to get out to hospital sooner rather than later.”
She added: “The good thing is that they’ve made some effort to do some learning and that’s been appreciated.”