On Friday 10 March 2017, four firefighters were injured when an explosion ripped through a property in Beverley Road, Hull. Following an extensive internal inquiry, an HSE investigation and finally a Coroner's inquest, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service have now released the footage to highlight the dangers faced by their crews and the bravery shown in extreme circumstances.
The initial call to reports of smoke in the area was taken at 06.07hrs and the first engine from Clough Road arrived within three minutes. This CCTV footage was taken from that engine which pulled up on the roadside just to the north of the property. It has been edited for purposes of brevity, but the sequence of events has not been altered.
Click here to see the footage
Two firefighters entered the property wearing breathing apparatus and found the fire in the kitchen of a ground floor flat. The severe fire had burnt through a gas pipe at the rear of the oven which had allowed gas to escape and fill the room. Upon the introduction of water to extinguish the fire, the gas ignited, causing an explosion which ripped through the property and blew out both ground floor and first floor windows and knocked firefighters to the outside of the property backwards onto the pavement.
The two firefighters in the kitchen made their way out and received medical attention on the pavement from fellow crew members and paramedics from Yorkshire Ambulance Service. Two further firefighters were taken to Hull Royal Infirmary for precautionary check-ups before being released later that day.
Thankfully, events such as this are rare within this region and across the UK. However, they serve as a reminder that firefighters are trained for every eventuality and, despite injuries to colleagues and the risk of further explosions or structural collapse, they returned to the property to look for casualties.
An unconscious male was later brought out of the property, but was sadly pronounced dead at hospital. Our thoughts remain with the family as they have since the incident back in March.