Evening Herald (Ireland)
BRAY, Ireland — The firemen who died in the Bray disaster were never trained to use the equipment they brought to try to put out the blaze, it has emerged.
Brian Murray and Mark O'Shaughnessy were using equipment that could never have put out the 'backdraft'-type inferno that they walked into.
The shock finding is the first indicator of what might have gone wrong on the day of the double tragedy in September last year.
According to sources close to the garda investigation, it has been discovered that the men were using a foam system that was not appropriate for the type of blaze they encountered.
The probe has reportedly found that Mr Murray and O'Shaughnessy were caught in a 'flash-over,' a sudden explosion of trapped gas, smoke or vapours.
They would have been overcome by a sudden surge of heat as high as 1,000C, rendering them unconscious.
They were using a compressed air foam system (CAFS), which firefighters do not consider appropriate for the temperatures found in a 'hot-house' fire.
A flash-over happens when intense heat causes particles of gas in an enclosed area to spontaneously ignite. The effect is similar to a backdraft, where the sudden addition of oxygen causes an explosion.
"There is a particular course for the use of the system within an enclosed area", a source said. "This was not done for Bray."
A Dublin-based fireman said CAFS had no cooling properties that would have helped a "compartment" fire.
"It can be sent in through the window at the fire to knock it out fast, but as for going into hot-house fires, I wouldn't even think about it", he explained.
The garda inquiry is one of three investigations into the Bray tragedy, the others are being carried out by the Health and Safety Authority and Wicklow County Council.
The exact cause of the firefighters' deaths has not been officially confirmed for operational reasons.
The garda inquiry has already found firefighters in Bray did not have proper access to training and resources.
Gardai have arrested two people in connection with the tragedy.
They were both released without charge after being questioned on suspicion of reckless endangerment.
The inquests into Mr Murray and O'Shaughnessy's deaths open next Tuesday, but arelikely to be adjourned as the garda investigation is not complete.
The families of both men are fighting for reform within the service and to have a full-time service in Bray, as well as the introduction of a national fire authority.
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