Fireman who died in fireworks factory blaze "had not had relevant training" (From The Argus)

Fireman who died in fireworks factory blaze "had not had relevant training"

2:00pm Wednesday 11th November 2009 in

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Two firemen who died in an explosion at a fireworks factory near Lewes might not have lost their lives if they had received relevant training, a court heard today.

Retained firefighter Geoff Wicker, 49, and support officer Brian Wembridge, 63, were killed in the blast at Marlie Farm in Shortgate on December 3 2006.

A metal container illegally packed with fireworks "exploded like a bomb" after a fire broke out at the site, Lewes Crown Court heard.

The two firemen, both long-serving members of East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, were killed and some 20 others, mostly police and fire officers, were injured.

Jurors were told that Martin Winter, 52, the boss of Alpha Fireworks Ltd, and his son and employee Nathan Winter, 25, were aware of the hazards posed by housing such fireworks in a metal container with other fireworks but kept them in there anyway.

But outlining the defence case today, Mukul Chawla QC said they could not be considered responsible for the two deaths as it was the duty of fire officers at the scene to have been aware of the dangers of a blaze involving fireworks and to have taken the necessary precautions.

Referring to the Health and Safety Executive's Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations (MSER) he said to the jury: "It's no coincidence that fireworks here are referred to as explosives as that's what they are.

"You need to consider among the allegations whether any of the firefighters who attended Marlie Farm had any real idea that they were dealing with explosives.

"The simple truth is that if the firefighters had followed their own established process, if the senior officer present at the time had followed any of their processes, neither Mr Wicker nor Mr Wembridge would have been anywhere near that container when it exploded.

"But for what ever reason it appears that none of these firefighters ... were provided with any training or had at any stage their attention brought to the MSER regulations or the approved code of practice in relation to these regulations or to the published procedures."

Mr Chawla added that the regulations state that "if a fire is established and involves explosives or threatens to spread to them, evacuate to a distance of 600m," but this was in no way adhered to.

Referring to prosecution evidence that Martin Winter had been angry towards assembled police officers and had even accused one of the fire officers of being drunk, Mr Chawla said: "He was irritated and that irritation turned to anger by the lack of any effective action that appeared to him to be taken by the firefighters."

He added that another firefighter was known to have told a family member the next day that the scene was one of "total confusion" while there had been a "pathetic" amount of water available for them to douse the flames.

Referring to the storage of illegal fireworks, Mr Chawla said the defendants "better than anyone knew that they were dangerous".

He added: "Is it really likely to be the case that they would allow the storage to take place within a few yards of the house that the Winter family occupied, the house which was razed to the ground by the explosion and ensuing fires."

Jeremy Wainwright, representing Nathan Winter, said the blaze broke out as he was preparing for a display that the company, then called Festival Fireworks UK Ltd, was due to put on in Eastbourne.

He said Nathan Winter, who was only 22-years-old at the time, was "not directly responsible in this case for storage or safety issues".

As the blaze spread around the site, he warned firefighters of a risk of a serious explosion if it reached the container but he was not listened to.

Mr Wainwright said: "Because of his age, that advice was tragically ignored and that was not Nathan Winter's fault.

"Had his advice been taken it may have avoided the tragedy that then followed."

The Winters both deny two counts of manslaughter.

Not guilty pleas have also been entered on behalf of Alpha Fireworks Ltd, which faces two counts of breaching health and safety legislation.