Two firefighters die in Southampton building retard fire - includes video

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Police have launched an review in to the deaths of dual glow fighters killed as they tackled a glow in a Hampshire construction block.

James Shears, 35, and Alan Bannon, 38, died when the glow at Shirley Towers in Southampton went utterly out of carry out according to neighbours.

Mr Bannon was tied together with a immature daughter according to his neighbours.

Residents pronounced there were rumours that a roof and stairwell in the retard had collapsed causing the deaths of the dual firemen after dual shrill bangs were listened at the scene.

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They are the initial firemen to be killed in a glow for two-and-a-half years and were praised currently by Hampshires arch glow officer, John Bonney, for their intrepid work in intensely formidable circumstances. He pronounced it was not nonetheless well known either something went wrong during the operation to rescue dozens of residents.

Two alternative firemen were treated with colour for browns to their hands in the glow that started on the ninth construction of the 15-storey retard at around 8pm on Tuesday.

Dozens of residents had to leave their homes in the retard in Church Street. Nearby roads were cordoned off as twenty glow appliances and ancillary vehicles from stations opposite Hampshire were sent to understanding with the incident.

The glow use pronounced that it was called to the construction at 8.14pm. The prosaic where the glow proposed was home to a mom with dual children, all of whom escaped uninjured, according to neighbours.

Charlie Le Marechal, 22, was staying with his mom on the sixth construction when the glow started. I got a phone call at about 8.20pm observant there was a fire and I looked out of the window and saw abandon entrance out of the retard above.

We saw potion descending from the prosaic on glow and down next we saw glow engines everywhere, ambulances and police.

We went down to the front exit and there was a lot of fume and there was water entrance down and the military took the names and told us to go over the road to the Salvation Army."

Residents were supposing with puncture place to live last night by Southampton City Council. They have not nonetheless been told when they can lapse to their homes.

Mr Bonney pronounced his men had shown loyal bravery in an different situation. Their first regard was the reserve of the open and their second regard was the safety of their associate organisation members," he said. I think it is a reverence to them that we saw such a deployment and there was a little really intrepid behaviour that night.

Their deaths in the line of avocation are the initial given Nov 2007 when 4 members of Warwickshire Fire Service died in a glow at a unfeeling make-up plant at Atherstone-on-Stour. Warwickshire. Eight men have been arrested in connection with the fire. Six are on bail tentative serve inquiries and dual are in military custody.

Details of the resources surrounding Tuesdays glow could not nonetheless be released, the Hampshire Fire Service said.

We would goal to recover sum at a little after stage, Mr Bonney said. You have to assimilate that we lay here currently with the smashing event of hindsight.

Whether something went wrong, we will find in due march and if there is something that went wrong afterwards we will residence that.

At the moment, what they did was they were safeguarding the open underneath incredibly formidable circumstances.

Mr Bonney added: This is an incredibly formidable and unhappy time for myself and everyone in Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The dual firefighters will be sadly longed for and will leave a harmful hole in the service.

Our thoughts and prayers are with their family groups at this comfortless time and we are giving them all the await we can. This is not usually a harmful loss to the use but is a loss to the total glow use community.

During these incredibly formidable circumstances, fire-fighters at the stage undertook the successful depletion and rescue of a series of people.

Their professionalism, underneath indeed formidable conditions, has been excellent and a covenant to the service.