Manchester Arena inquiry hears of delays to arrival of fire crews

All available firefighters and their equipment should have been scrambled to the Manchester Arena bombing but instead only arrived on scene two hours after the explosion, a public inquiry heard.

Firefighters so close to the scene they heard the bomb go off were instead instructed by bosses to drive three miles in the opposite direction, the inquiry into the bombing has heard.

The response of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) is again under scrutiny as the inquiry hears evidence about the emergency services' response to the bombing.

Matthew Hall, a former senior fire officer appointed by the inquiry to compile an independent expert report, said no fire commander was put in place to aid the fire service response until 80 minutes after the bomb was detonated.

Mr Hall said fire crews should have been sent to the scene after reports of the terror attack came in, not to "muster'' at a station three miles away.

Fire chiefs could not contact the police force duty officer to find out what was going on and wrongly suspected an armed terrorist was also on the loose following the bombing.

The information vacuum left the GMFRS in paralysis with frustrated firefighters waiting hours for their bosses to allow them to attend the scene, the inquiry has heard.

John Cooper QC, representing some of the families of the 22 murdered in the suicide bombing asked the witness: "But certainly this was a major challenge, wasn't it?

"This is what they're there for. ''A major incident, when the last thing the public needed was a risk averse fire service, would you accept them?"

Mr Hall replied: "Yes I would.''

Mr Cooper continued: "And that's what they got, isn't it, on the night.

"Putting it more bluntly and addressing the evidence as you've given it.

"At the time of this major incident on the 22nd of May, 2017, the last thing the public needed was a risk averse fire service, wasn't it, and that's just what they got, isn't it?''

Mr Hall replied: "The evidence would support that.''

GMFRS has since issued a public apology for failures on the night.

Some of the dying and injured were ferried from the City Room, the scene of the blast by police and members of the public on makeshift crash barriers.

The fire service had specialist response teams and technical rescue units available with stretchers and enhanced first aid units.

In the event the initial, delayed deployment hours after the bombing, consisted of 12 firefighters, the same response as to a domestic house fire, the inquiry has heard.

Mr Cooper asked the expert witness: "It was a great loss to the effort wasn't it?''

Mr Hall replied: "In my opinion all available and adequate resources should have been deployed at the earliest opportunity.''

The inquiry sitting in Manchester is looking at all the circumstances of the suicide bombing by Salman Abedi at an Ariana Grande concert which killed 22 people and left hundreds injured on May 22 2017.