The inquest into the death of Manchester firefighter Stephen Hunt opens today, 4th April, as the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) declare that the needless deaths of firefighters killed in the line of duty have to stop.
Stephen Hunt, who was based at Philips Park fire station in Manchester, was killed fighting a fire on Oldham Street in Manchester city centre on Saturday, 13 July 2013.
The inquest, led by HM senior coroner Nigel Meadows, will examine evidence to discover how firefighter Hunt died. The inquest is expected to last approximately five weeks.
Kevin Brown, FBU executive council member for the North West, said: “We will be submitting evidence to the inquest and hope that the lessons learned from this tragedy will be taken away and implemented to prevent anything like this happening to any of our members ever again.
“Obviously, fighting fires is not a job without risk but too often, firefighters say goodbye to their families when leaving for work, only never to return home.”
In the ten years up to 2014, 14 firefighters were killed in the line of duty.
