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United in grief: Irish firemen honour their fallen comrades
 In the wake
of the tragic deaths of four Warwickshire firefighters an Irish fire brigade
group has paid tribute to those who perished in the flames.
Terry Harrington is the London Fire Brigade station manager and founding
member of the London Fire Brigade Irish Society.
The organisation is hosting a special benefit night at the end of the
month in memory of those who died in Britain and also in remembrance of
two firemen who lost their lives last September in a blaze in Bray, Co.
Wicklow.
The second-generation Irishman said the loss of life is something that
has affected many firefighters and their families.
He said: “Our aim as an Irish society is to undertake charitable
work to provide support for the Irish community here.
“The recent tragedies in Warwickshire and Bray have affected us
all.
“We felt it was appropriate to offer our condolences to the families
and we approached them about the benefit dance.
“Our hearts went out to both families from Bray.”
The recent fire in Warwickshire claimed the lives of four men after more
than 80 firefighters attended the scene of a suspicious blaze on an industrial
estate near Stratford-upon-Avon.
Mark Conroy, a second-generation Irish firefighter working in Heston,
Hounslow, expressed his sadness.
He said: “It’s an awful thing to happen, a tragedy, and very
sad for the families involved.”
Mr Conroy has been involved in some of the worst incidents attended to
by fire services in recent years, including the London 7/7 train bombings
in 2005 and the Southall train crash in 1997, which claimed six lives.
The Warwickshire fire on November 2 has brought the heroic work of the
fire services back into the public
eye but it has also emphasised the risks firefighters take in the course
of their work.
Firefighter Conroy said: “When you’re called to a situation
like that, you have a job to do that you’ve been trained for so
you have to focus your time on doing what you can to help.
“It’s only afterwards when you start to think about what
you’ve just witnessed and wonder what might have happened.
“The incident in Warwickshire is a terrible tragedy with four young
guys involved and we just want to express our condolences to them.”
The London Fire Brigade Irish Society is now hoping to help the families
of the victims in Warwickshire and Wicklow.
A benefit dance will be hosted on Friday, November 30 at the McNamara
Suite in Camden Irish Centre at 8pm.
Proceeds will go to the families of those affected by the tragedies in
Britain and in Ireland.
The society will also be taking collections from nearby pubs and have
invited the bereaved Irish families to attend the dance.
Organiser Terry Harrington said: “We’re making an appeal to
get an airline involved to subsidise the costs of their trip through either
complimentary tickets or a greatly-reduced price.
“We’d be delighted to hear from anybody who could help us
to get the families over at minimal expense.”
Contact either Aine McGourty on 07961 576320 or Terry Harrington on
07810 850589 for further information.
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