Health and safety review after Wirral fireman falls off ladder

Nov 23 2011 by Gary Stewart, Birkenhead News

Health and safety review after Wirral fireman falls off ladder

MERSEYSIDE fire chiefs were told to review their safety procedures after a firefighter fell 20ft from a ladder in Birkenhead.

The officer was part of a crew called out to reports of thick black smoke billowing from a railway tunnel.

The firefighter was injured when he fell from a ladder which had been placed against a railway arch and landed in the street.

At a fire authority meeting last week chief fire officer Dan Stephens said: “The officer in charge, who was a temporary crew manager, took the decision to deploy a temporary ladder from the roadside to the top of the archway, underneath which was the railway tunnel.

“During the course of the incident, the officer fell into the street.

“He was not seriously injured but he certainly was injured and required several stitches.

“It was a clear breach of operational procedure but the decision was taken to ask for a health and safety compliance motion because for the officer in charge, and the crew, it is not a mistake they are ever likely to make again.

“To take disciplinary action would have served no purpose.”

A Health and Safety Executive inspector interviewed the injured firefighter and his boss, who had not taken a statutory “managing safety” course because there were not enough candidates to form a full class.

The HSE is not pursuing any further action but suggested the fire authority collect and share data from sites which crews frequently attend.

It also said temporary crew managers should get risk assessment training and incident commanders reviewed to ensure “ongoing competency”.