A crying paramedic asked firefighters why they were “stood around” instead of helping casualties a mile away at the Manchester Arena bombing, the public inquiry into the attack has heard.
The first fire engine did not arrive at the scene until two hours after the explosion that killed 22 people and injured hundreds at an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017.
On Tuesday, the inquiry heard evidence from firefighters involved in the emergency response.
Alan Topping, a retired fire officer who was a duty command support officer on the night, said in the aftermath of the attack he “felt ashamed to be a firefighter”.
Topping told the hearing that, by the time of their arrival, specialist teams who could have treated and moved casualties were “not really going to offer that much help” and said they needed to be there “within five to 10 minutes”.
The inquiry has heard previously that Greater Manchester police declared Operation Plato, codename for a marauding terrorist firearms attack, amid erroneous reports of gunfire. However, police failed to inform the fire and ambulance services, and none of the emergency services met at the rendezvous point to discuss a planned response.
Counsel to the inquiry Paul Greaney QC read the account of one fire officer who recalled that a distressed paramedic “came over crying, pleading with us to go over and help … Her exact words were, ‘What are you doing just stood around here? There are people dying, we need your help. I have just taken an 18-year-old girl in the back of an ambulance who died en route to hospital and you lot are just stood around.’”
Topping admitted he had little understanding of the reasons for the inaction and told the inquiry that there was “a lot of anger, upset, confusion” among the crews who were impatient at being kept away from the scene.
Topping agreed with John Cooper QC, representing the bereaved families, that the scene at Thompson Street station – where fire crews were being held – “felt wrong” because important resources and services his colleagues could have provided were “simply wasted”.
“I felt ashamed to be a firefighter and I felt like we had let the people of Greater Manchester down. We were there to help and we didn’t do our job. I just feel so sad we didn’t attend for the families.”
