Hopes fade for missing firefighters

Search goes on for three officers inside burnt-out warehouse as police investigate the cause of the Warkwickshire fire

Police and fire brigade investigators will today begin examining the remains of a partially collapsed warehouse for the cause of a blaze in which four firefighters are feared to have died.

One died in hospital and a further three remain missing inside the charred remains of the building, a vegetable packing warehouse near Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. A search for the missing will resume once the building is secured. None of the affected firefighters had been named last night.

If, as seems likely, the three missing officers are confirmed dead it will be the worst loss of life suffered by the fire service since 1972 when seven firefighters died in a blaze at a warehouse in Kilbirnie Street, Glasgow.

Fire crews from Warwickshire, Hereford and Worcester, and the West Midlands tackled the blaze at a warehouse on an industrial estate in Atherstone on Stour. Police said last night they were treating the blaze as suspicious. Witnesses described an "explosion" in the warehouse after the fire had broken out.

The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said last night that he was "shocked and saddened" by the news, and praised those involved. "I pay tribute to the courage, dedication and service of the firefighters," he said. "We stand ready to help in any way we can."

William Brown, Warwickshire Chief Fire Officer said: "We are deeply shocked by the tragedy. Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of our firefighters.

"The fire service has a strong family tradition – it is a close bond which allows us to do our work, often in difficult and sometimes in dangerous circumstances. The firefighters were heroically doing their job."

He said he had "grave concerns" for the missing officers, who remain inside the warehouse. He said he was clinging to the hope that they would still be found alive. "We continue to hope. We are still searching for our colleagues and we are confident that we will find our colleagues," he added.

The circumstances under which the fire started and the tactics employed by the firefighters while they in the building, will be investigated, he said.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said last night: "Deaths in the line of duty touch everyone who works in the fire service. Deaths within the fire service family are felt very deeply by everyone in the service, across the world. Local and national FBU officials are already looking at all health and safety issues relating to this incident and they will be co-operating fully with the Health and Safety Executive and local brigade managers."

Medical staff, five ambulances and an air ambulance remained on standby last night, according to West Midlands Ambulance Service. Its chief executive Anthony Marsh said: "This has to be one of the darkest days in the history of emergency services in Warwickshire. Our crews work on an almost daily basis with firefighters and many will probably have known the staff involved."

Chief Superintendent Mak Chishty of Warwickshire Police said yesterday: "A full investigation into the cause of this fire has already begun and a full examination of the scene by fire investigation officers and police officers will take place.

"All fires are treated as suspicious until their cause has been identified. Our thoughts are with our colleagues in the fire service today and with the family and friends of the firefighter who has died and those who are missing."

The confirmed death of the firefighter is the second so far this year. Sub officer Paul Mallaghan, 46, of the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, was killed on 16 June when he was hit by a vehicle as he tackled a car fire on the A1M road near Stevenage.