‘We still don’t know the reason for blast’
Campaigner’s fury over lack of answers
Anxious residents remain desperate for answers six months on from a devastating blast that ripped through four homes .
People in Kincaidston are still in the dark over what caused the blast that rocked the entire Ayr estate, leaving the Ferguson family of four, dad William, 47, mum Marion, 43, and their two sons, aged 16 and 11, in hospital with serious injuries. All four are now out of hospital.
And a community campaigner fears victims will be in an ‘insurance limbo’ with companies refusing to pay out until a clear cause of the devastating event is confirmed.
Resident Robert Dunn called for change in the days that followed the explosion after fears that a gas fault was to blame.
Now Robert, who runs the Kincaidston Community Pavilion, has called for HSE to give the community answers. He added: “How can they tell the community
after everything
they have been through that they won’t be publishing the final report?
“What happened here was catastrophic.
“A family was left with serious life changing injuries, three other households were made homeless.
“And the community is still feeling the effects of the disaster, there is still widespread fear and uncertainty.
“People’s mental health has been seriously impacted by the disaster.
“Six months on we need to know what happened and we need answers.
“There is a wall of silence, it is almost as if it has been forgotten about, well no-one here has forgotten about it.”
Robert has revealed some residents unable to claim on their insurance had to rely on vital donations to survive over Christmas.
Robert added: “We’ve had to dish out quite a bit of aid.
“We are still taking in donations, a lot of people are out of pocket.
“The blast was really near Christmas and this left a lot of people in a desperate situation.
“People have been left in limbo.” Robert hit out at HSE for taking the decision to not publish the report, he added: “My fear is this could drag on for some time now.
“Insurance companies will be inundated with claims, and
they won’t pay out until we know what caused the blast.”
Inspectors leading the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) probe are continuing to investigate what caused the horrific explosion in Gorse Park on October 18 last year.
A source told the Post that the final report on the investigation will not be published publicly and those seeking answers would have to submit Freedom
of Information requests.
There is a wall of silence it is almost as if it has been forgotten about, well no-one here has forgotten about it
Robert Dunn