An inquest into the death of a 53-year-old worker at the Irish Ispat steel plant has found that the company in-house firefighting team was refused on-going training by management.
Thomas Mulcahy of Gardiners Hill, Cork, died on January 15th after a fire broke out in a building close to the quality control laboratory where he worked.
Co-worker Mr Glen Jeffers told Cork Coroner's Court that he and his colleagues had made unsuccessful attempts to break through a Perspex window on the second floor of the building to get Mulcahy out.
"I went up a ladder to reach the window. I tried to break the glass with a crowbar. I used every ounce of strength I had to break that window," Mr Jeffers said.
The local fire brigade arrived at the scene shortly after 2 a.m. but all efforts to revive Mr Mulcahy failed and he was pronounced dead at the South Infirmary Hospital at 4.30 a.m.
Employees at the plant in Haulbowline indicated that the company emergency fire tender was not tested on a weekly basis due to Ispat's refusal to pay overtime to employees who checked the vehicle.
The emergency fire tender failed to work on the night of the fire because of a flat battery.
The court was also told that no fire escapes or smoke detectors were in place in the area of the building where Mr Mulcahy worked.
Det Garda Regina Donnelly, who carried out an extensive examination of the scene of the worker's death, said that she had been unable to establish the exact cause of the fire.
However, she admitted that it might have been linked to a minor explosion which is reported to have happened at the plant at 1 a.m.
The jury recorded a verdict of accidental death in the case and urged the health and safety authorities to visit industrial sites on a regular basis.
Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster of Cork University Hospital said Mr Mulcahy had died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning due to an industrial fire.
The Mulcahy family issued a statement thanking the fire officers and workers who had tried to save Tom's life.
Coroner Myra Cullinane extended her condolences to the family and friends of the deceased saying that it was "a story of absolute tragedy".