Manchester Arena attack was the Fire and Rescue Service's 'darkest hour'

Greater Manchester’s Mayor has added to the criticism levelled at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service in the wake of an independent report into the Manchester Arena bombing in May last year.

Andy Burnham claimed the service “fell well short of the high standards it sets itself”, and weaknesses in leadership and culture have been identified.

His comments come after Lord Kerslake’s review into the bombing slammed the service claiming that they “did not arrive at the scene and therefore played no meaningful role in the response for two hours. That meant a valuable resource was not available to assist on the scene.”

Firefighters have admitted they were left frustrated at the lack of opportunity to go and help their colleagues in the emergency services at the time of the explosion.

Both Greater Manchester Police and the North-West Ambulance Service have been praised for the way they responded.

However, in a statement, Interim Chief of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, Dawn Docx, admitted failings.

She said: “The 22 May 2017 was Greater Manchester’s darkest hour and it is clear that our response fell far short of that which the people of Greater Manchester have a right to expect. I apologise unreservedly for that.

"There were clearly failures in leadership and poor decisions made.

"As a result firefighters themselves, desperate on the night to attend the incident, were also let down by their senior colleagues.

"It is because of them that this report was commissioned in the first place and I want to thank them for raising their concerns.

"I also want to apologise to all of our workforce who demonstrate day in and day out their bravery and commitment to keeping the people of Greater Manchester safe.

"I want to thank Lord Kerslake and the panel for their openness in conducting the review and writing their report, and the respect they have shown to our firefighters throughout the process. 

"We accept the findings of the report and as part of our new position within the GMCA, work is already underway to fully implement the recommendations.

"As the Deputy Mayor [Baroness Beverley Hughes] has already explained, she is leading a root and branch examination of policy, practice, leadership and culture within the service and North West Fire Control, and this will go well beyond the specific recommendations in the Kerslake report.

"As interim Chief Fire Officer I fully embrace this process and will be working closely with the Deputy Mayor.

"The fundamental mistake made by the fire service that night was failing to communicate with our partner agencies and that is something at the forefront of our plans to change fundamentally the fire service and its culture.

"We must ensure that the principles of partnership working are deeply embedded within the service. This is about us acting together as one, which I know everybody, including all our firefighters, will agree with.

"By working together we will ensure that the mistakes of that night are never repeated."

The service has also said no disciplinary action was being taken against any fire officers over the response of the Manchester attack.

However, a ‘whole service review’ has now been announced into the fire service.

Lord Kerslake’s report also identified other aspects of the night which failed, including a hot-line, stating: “The set-up of an effective emergency response line for families was seriously hampered by the complete failure of a telephony system provided by Vodafone.

"This caused considerable distress on the night to families who were frantically seeking to find out more information about what had happened to their loved ones.”

Certain aspects have been praised following the attack including the investment in an emergency plan which helped first responders work ‘with a high degree of confidence’.

Actions taken by individuals on the night has also been praised with Lord Kerslake saying they ‘demonstrated enormous bravery and compassion'.

The Kerslake report makes a number of recommendations for the Greater Manchester emergency services, Government, other local and national bodies and the media.

It is recognised that people may need support following the publication of the Kerslake report. Help is available. 

The Manchester Resilience Hub is an enhanced NHS mental health service set up specifically to help people from across the UK who have been affected by the Manchester Arena attack, including concert goers, children, families and professionals.

The service is hosted by Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, working with other NHS and voluntary sector agencies. 

As well as running the wellbeing screening programme for those involved in the attack, the Hub provides a central point for mental health advice and support.

It does not provide one-to-one therapy; where this is needed clinicians in the Hub work with other providers across the country to help people receive the care they need from services close to where they live.

People can phone the hub between 9am-5pm on 03330 095 071 Monday to Friday or email gm.help@nhs.net.

If the team are unable to answer your call immediately, you will have the option of leaving a message and someone will call you back as soon as possible.

You can also leave a message outside of opening hours on this number.  

If you are struggling to keep yourself well, please seek advice either from your GP, NHS 111 or in an emergency visit A&E at your local hospital. 

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