Tuesday 25 April 2000

Fire inquiry a disgrace, says victim's father

By Auslan Cramb, Scotland Correspondent

THE father of a woman who died after firemen failed to find her in a burning tenement yesterday described an internal report into the incident as a "disgrace". A disciplinary tribunal by Tayside Fire Brigade concluded that six firemen called to the blaze in Dundee should be cautioned for neglect, the most lenient sentence available to the inquiry.

Amanda Duncan, 21, made a 999 call in which she screamed for help minutes before the first firemen arrived at the scene, but was not kept on the line by the fire brigade operator. She died after a neighbour, Colin Crabb, a former psychiatric patient, deliberately set fire to the building. He is serving a 10-year sentence for culpable homicide.

Miss Duncan's father, Bob, said the inquiry was "a disgrace to myself, to my family and to the people of Dundee". He said: "How could they give those firefighters a caution? It's not a game of football. A life was at stake, my daughter's life. A caution is just a slap on the wrist."

The Tayside fire board refused to reveal full details of the findings of the inquiry into the incident two and a half years ago. Frances Duncan, the fire board chairman, said: "The charges against the accused firemen did not allege that any failures on their part led to the death of Miss Duncan."

She said that although one officer was charged with failing to pass on information about Miss Duncan screaming for help, the evidence did not support a charge. She said: "They were not charged with causing the death of Miss Duncan. The tribunal felt that the men had already suffered greatly as a result of the strain and it was important not to punish them for a series of faults for which they were not wholly responsible."

Mr Duncan and his wife, Janet, who are planning to sue the brigade, said the Tayside firemaster, Derek Marr, should have resigned. Mr Duncan said: "He is ultimately responsible for the actions of the fire brigade and it is clear that the brigade has failed to fulfil its duties."

The officers failed to find Amanda when they entered her flat after being ordered to check and ventilate each room in the block. She was later found on the floor of her living room and died in hospital that night. At a fatal accident inquiry, a sheriff said the fire brigade had behaved in an "amateurish" fashion.

28 June 1999: Firemen accused over death in flat blaze

1 April 1998: Ex-patient started death fire