Wicklow council offices searched

Gardaí today carried out a search at the environment section of Wicklow County Council in connection with an investigation into the death of two fire officers in a fire in Bray in September 2007.

Mark O'Shaughnessy (26) and Brian Murray (46) were killed when the roof of a disused building in Bray collapsed on them on September 26th 2007 as they attempted to extinguish a fire.

A large contingent of gardaí arrived at County Buildings in Wicklow Town this morning and cordoned off two floors of the building, according to bystanders. It is understood a number of boxes of files and computer records were taken away for examination.

A spokesman for the council confirmed the search but said the council would be making no further comment as it concerned a Garda investigation.

The Garda press office said officers had carried out a search of a premises in Wicklow Town, in connection with an investigation into a fire in Bray.

The families of the dead fire men have claimed there was a delay in responding to the fire and the blaze was out of control by the time fire crews arrived. They believe this was a major factor in the two men's deaths.

One of the firemen who died had warned of dangerous practices in the local fire service, an inquest into the men's deaths heard last November.

The inquest in Dublin was told today that Mr Murray wrote to the county's Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Joanne O'Connor, three weeks before he died after office workers were asked to check a fire themselves before firefighters were called out.

"It has come to our attention that there have been numerous call-outs that we have not been alerted for, this practice as always is totally unacceptable," he wrote.

The letter, dated September 4th, 2007, was written by Mr Murray, a 10-year veteran of Bray's retained fire service, on behalf of the town's firefighters.

Coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty said a postmortem found the men died in the fire after inhaling hot gases and suffering burns. Deputy State Pathologist Dr Micheal Curtis found no evidence of trauma to indicate crushing although breathing equipment was damaged.

The inquest into the men's deaths was adjourned until next month as the Garda inquiry into the deaths continues.

The Garda, the Health and Safety Authority and Wicklow County Council each opened investigations after the deaths.

A man in his 40s and a woman in her 20s were questioned in connection with the fire over the past month but were released without charge. Files were sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions in both instances.

A plaque to commemorate the two firemen was unveiled at Bray Fire Station in September.