THE OFFICES of Wicklow County Council have been searched by gardaí and a number of computers and paperwork files seized as part of the investigation into the deaths of two part-time firefighters 2½ years ago.
The searches took place yesterday at the council’s offices in Bray. The Health Safety Authority (HSA) is also investigating the deaths, but its staff were not involved in the search.
A spokesman for the council confirmed the searches took place, but said the council would be making no further comment as it concerned a Garda investigation.
Brian Murray (46), The Green, Woodbrook Glen, Bray, Co Wicklow and Mark O’Shaughnessy (26), Loreto House, Sidmonton, Bray, Co Wicklow, died during an attempt to bring a warehouse fire under control on September 26th, 2007.
The men died when the roof of the disused factory in Bray that was on fire collapsed on them. They were dead by the time their colleagues reached them.
Mr Murray, a father of 13 children, was a sub-officer in Bray, second in charge of a station of 15 firefighters. His younger colleague, Mr O’Shaughnessy, was single. The inquest into the men’s deaths has been adjourned several times to give gardaí more time to investigate.
After the men lost their lives, concerns were raised that the two part-time firefighters had been alone when trying to bring the fire under control.
The men’s families claim there was a delay in responding to the fire as it was out of control by the time fire crews arrived. They believe this was a major factor in the men’s deaths.
Before it was adjourned, a brief hearing of the inquest in November 2008 was told that Mr Murray had raised safety concerns not long before he died.
He wrote to a senior fire service official three weeks before his death after office workers were asked to check a fire themselves before firefighters were called out.
The Garda’s and HSA’s investigation is examining a number of issues around the men’s training and the equipment they had been issued with.
The resourcing and administration of the fire service is also being examined.
The men’s families have called for an independent inquiry into the deaths and total reform of fire services throughout the country.
The families have also hired consultants to examine the case.
There have been a number of arrests as part of the Garda’s investigations with three fire service officials having been held for questioning in late 2008 and early last year.
The three officials were released without charge and a file on the case is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The material seized yesterday will be studied with a view to adding any relevant details to the Garda’s file on the deaths.
A plaque to commemorate the two firemen was unveiled at Bray Fire Station in September.
Wicklow Councillor John Brady of Sinn Féin said the investigation into the men’s deaths needed to be accompanied by an independent inquiry.
“I welcome [yesterday’s] raids but reiterate the call for a full independent investigation into the fire services in Wicklow,” he said.