STORE WORKER'S ACTIONS SAVED LIVES
Store worker's actions saved lives
THE BRAVE actions of a store worker in Omagh at the time of the bomb, have been praised by his fellow workers and management.
Charlie Cairns who is Provisions Supervisor at Supervalu led over 100 people to safety on Saturday last, but according to this modest man, he was just doing his job.
When the word came through that a bomb was believed to be at the courthouse, staff at Supervalu were not told to evacuate. However, Charlie who was in charge of the store in the absence of the Manager and Deputy Manager, decided to guide the staff and shoppers to the back of the store.
Not wishing to alarm the customers, Charlie told the staff to evacuate the building. He closed the front doors blocking off the exit to the front street.
Not realising that in doing so, he undoubtedly saved lives, Charlie told the 'Herald' this week. "I was only following procedure".
But according to Manager, John Wallace, Charlie's cool head and efficient manner, in which he dealt with the incident led to people's lives being saved.
Charlie said that they have been instructed that in the case of fire, staff should lead the shoppers away and out of the building through a door at the other end of the store.
But on this occasion, Charlie had not been told of the bombscare, and his actions in proceeding with the evacuation has led to him being praised by his fellow workers and management.
Charlie said "In this instance while I knew the bombscare related to the courthouse, I did not want to take any chances. I therefore led everyone to the back.
"I did not use the public address system because I did not want to alarm people, but I did ask staff to instruct shoppers towards the back of the shop and down the stairs.
"There were a lot of people gathering around outside the front of the shop because of the bomb, which everyone believed was at the courthouse.
"Some were filtering in because ours was the only big store left open. I was concerned that if we had to evacuate, the less people inside the store, the better".
The Supervalu store which underwent extensive renovation in recent months, did receive some damage in the bomb, but nothing too serious. Panels at the back of the premises were damaged and some glass was broken.
THE BRAVE actions of a store worker in Omagh at the time of the bomb, have been praised by his fellow workers and management.
Charlie Cairns who is Provisions Supervisor at Supervalu led over 100 people to safety on Saturday last, but according to this modest man, he was just doing his job.
When the word came through that a bomb was believed to be at the courthouse, staff at Supervalu were not told to evacuate. However, Charlie who was in charge of the store in the absence of the Manager and Deputy Manager, decided to guide the staff and shoppers to the back of the store.
Not wishing to alarm the customers, Charlie told the staff to evacuate the building. He closed the front doors blocking off the exit to the front street.
Not realising that in doing so, he undoubtedly saved lives, Charlie told the 'Herald' this week. "I was only following procedure".
But according to Manager, John Wallace, Charlie's cool head and efficient manner, in which he dealt with the incident led to people's lives being saved.
Charlie said that they have been instructed that in the case of fire, staff should lead the shoppers away and out of the building through a door at the other end of the store.
But on this occasion, Charlie had not been told of the bombscare, and his actions in proceeding with the evacuation has led to him being praised by his fellow workers and management.
Charlie said "In this instance while I knew the bombscare related to the courthouse, I did not want to take any chances. I therefore led everyone to the back.
"I did not use the public address system because I did not want to alarm people, but I did ask staff to instruct shoppers towards the back of the shop and down the stairs.
"There were a lot of people gathering around outside the front of the shop because of the bomb, which everyone believed was at the courthouse.
"Some were filtering in because ours was the only big store left open. I was concerned that if we had to evacuate, the less people inside the store, the better".
The Supervalu store which underwent extensive renovation in recent months, did receive some damage in the bomb, but nothing too serious. Panels at the back of the premises were damaged and some glass was broken.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0012
Published Date: 20-Aug-98
Related Images
There have been no images archived for this article.