Firefighters will today remember their comrade Richard Jenkins who died 11 years ago whilst tackling a fire in Cardiff.
Richard Jenkins was the first firefighter to enter a building on fire at Newgale Place Ely, Cardiff in the early hours of Sunday 23 May 2004. He was caught in an explosion when a gas canister caught fire.
Cerith Griffiths, secretary of the FBU in Wales, said: “Firefighters will be thinking of Richard today remembering the tragedy that claimed his life. Our thoughts will be with his family, friends and colleagues on what must be a difficult day for them.
“His willingness to risk his own life to protect the public deserves to be remembered and honoured all these years later.”
The fire was started deliberately and two men were charged with manslaughter, each sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Two other firefighters were injured at the incident.
Grant Mayos, the Welsh representative on the FBU executive council, called on the lessons learnt from fatal incidents be applied to safeguard the lives of firefighters in the future. “The number of firefighters killed at fires in the UK has doubled over the past 10 years. It is clear more needs to be done to protect them.
“We recently met with officials from the Welsh government fire and rescue branch to discuss the recommendations of the Watterson report.”
A report by Professor Watterson of the University of Stirling published earlier this year made 48 recommendations to reduce the threat to firefighters.
