In 2006 Geoff Wicker and Brian Wembridge lost their lives tackling a fire at Marlie Farm. Despite a High Court ruling that compensation must be paid to the families East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service have refused to pay. The FBU has launched a campaign for justice.
The Incident
Retained firefighter Geoff Wicker and fire service photographer Brian Wembridge were among the first at the scene of the fire at Marlie Farm in Shortgate, on 3 December 2006.
The site, owned and operated by Festival Fireworks Ltd, exploded when a fire broke out and came into contact with a metal container, packed with unlicensed fireworks, whichexploded killing the two firefighters and injuring at least twenty others.
A report into the incident found several contributing factors to the tragedy including a lack of training for firefighters, a lack of information about Marlie Farm and a failure of the authorities to inspect the site regularly.
It was also found that on the day of the fire there was a lack of equipment, radios were not working properly and, when firefighters should have been evacuating from the site, only 16% of crews at the scene received the command.
The Court Case
When the case was brought to the civil courts Mr Justice Irwin ruled in favour of the victims’ families, saying that crews were “Ill prepared and poorly resourced” by East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.
The high court also rejected ESFRS’ claim that it had no responsibility towards its firefighters and owed them no duty of care, therefore having no liability when a firefighter is injured or killed on the fireground.
ESFRS should have offered compensation to the firefighters’ families then but instead chose to appeal the decision.
In January 2014 the Court of Appeal granted the fire authority leave to appeal. After further delay, the appeal has now been listed to be heard in February 2015.
The Campaign
Eight years after the tragic events at Marlie Farm the families of Geoff Wicker and Brian Wembridge have still not received any compensation.
We need justice for everyone affected by the disaster at Marlie Farm, we need the ESFRS to act with integrity and we need your help to achieve this.
Help secure justice for Geoff, Brian and their families by signing our petition demanding ESFRS compensate the families immediately as per the High Court decision.
We need you, your colleagues, friends, family and anyone else you know to sign the petition. So spread the word to get as many people as possible to sign up.
The more people who sign, the better chance of success we have.
Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, said: “Geoff and Brian dedicated their lives to the fire service and their families deserve much better.
“The way East Sussex Fire and Rescue have behaved is shameful but they still do not seem to get the message.
“I implore all members to get behind the campaign in order to get justice for Geoff and Brian.”
You can sign the petition via the FBU’s dedicated website here.
