FIREMEN TO GET COUNSELLING
Firemen to get counselling
FIREFIGHTERS from stations throughout Tyrone who helped collect the bodies of the dead at the scene of the Omagh bombing are receiving counselling to help them come to terms with their nightmare experience.
The officer who had command of firefighters from Fermanagh and Tyrone at the Omagh bomb disaster said it was the worst atrocity he had attended in his 19 years with the Fire Service. Gerry Warren (42), the Assistant Divisional Fire Officer who is based in Omagh, said the dead were lying strewn across the road, some with body parts missing.
"I would say it was the worst atrocity I have been to. I am going into my 19th year in the Brigade and I have served in different divisions. In my time I have attended the Droppin Well Inn and Enniskillen in 1987 but this was by far the worse. I have never seen so much carnage and human suffering".
Mr Warren was on duty at his desk at Omagh Station when he heard the blast and at 3.12pm, just two minutes later, he was at the scene.
"It was just pure pandemonium. There were obviously multiple fatalities and multiple injuries".
Once two small fires had been extinguished, his men helped RUC and Army personnel and others attend to the injured who were then rushed off to hospital. He detailed a number of firefighters to search adjoining buildings for more bodies under the rubble and one officer recovered the body of a dead child.
"The bodies were strewn across the road and we quickly went from six dead to 17 dead in a matter of 30 minutes. There were parts of bodies missing, arms, legs, feet missing and we found a human head".
A temporary morgue was set up as a collection point for the dead as a coordinated search and rescue operation swung into action.
"I cannot commend highly enough the response of the other emergency services - the Police, the Army, the professionals and the paramedics - and, also, the general public. All the time I was worried at the possibility of buildings collapsing".
Mr Warren said a feature of the bombing was the way it had crossed all divides, from religion through to age groupings, including children.
"I have three children of my own. One of them is at university and one just got her 'O' Level results, so that aspect was very poignant and, when I go home now, you tend to give them an extra hug.
"I'm no expert when it comes to what damage a bomb can do but I can tell you that this one caused structural damage for about 200 square metres and blast damage for probably another 500 square metres, so there's nothing to protect what happens to a human being caught in the middle. The injuries were horrific", he said.
He then revealed that counselling sessions at individual Stations had already begun as part of the force's Critical Accident Debriefing programme to allow firefighters talk about the situation they had faced and to express their feelings.
"The sessions are designed to prevent them suffering any psychological effects as a result of what they had experienced and, if they require any further counselling, this is arranged for them".
A native of Derry, Mr Warren has served in Omagh for the past two and a half years and said he had found it a very friendly place. He is the Fire Safety Officer for Fermanagh and Tyrone.
FIREFIGHTERS from stations throughout Tyrone who helped collect the bodies of the dead at the scene of the Omagh bombing are receiving counselling to help them come to terms with their nightmare experience.
The officer who had command of firefighters from Fermanagh and Tyrone at the Omagh bomb disaster said it was the worst atrocity he had attended in his 19 years with the Fire Service. Gerry Warren (42), the Assistant Divisional Fire Officer who is based in Omagh, said the dead were lying strewn across the road, some with body parts missing.
"I would say it was the worst atrocity I have been to. I am going into my 19th year in the Brigade and I have served in different divisions. In my time I have attended the Droppin Well Inn and Enniskillen in 1987 but this was by far the worse. I have never seen so much carnage and human suffering".
Mr Warren was on duty at his desk at Omagh Station when he heard the blast and at 3.12pm, just two minutes later, he was at the scene.
"It was just pure pandemonium. There were obviously multiple fatalities and multiple injuries".
Once two small fires had been extinguished, his men helped RUC and Army personnel and others attend to the injured who were then rushed off to hospital. He detailed a number of firefighters to search adjoining buildings for more bodies under the rubble and one officer recovered the body of a dead child.
"The bodies were strewn across the road and we quickly went from six dead to 17 dead in a matter of 30 minutes. There were parts of bodies missing, arms, legs, feet missing and we found a human head".
A temporary morgue was set up as a collection point for the dead as a coordinated search and rescue operation swung into action.
"I cannot commend highly enough the response of the other emergency services - the Police, the Army, the professionals and the paramedics - and, also, the general public. All the time I was worried at the possibility of buildings collapsing".
Mr Warren said a feature of the bombing was the way it had crossed all divides, from religion through to age groupings, including children.
"I have three children of my own. One of them is at university and one just got her 'O' Level results, so that aspect was very poignant and, when I go home now, you tend to give them an extra hug.
"I'm no expert when it comes to what damage a bomb can do but I can tell you that this one caused structural damage for about 200 square metres and blast damage for probably another 500 square metres, so there's nothing to protect what happens to a human being caught in the middle. The injuries were horrific", he said.
He then revealed that counselling sessions at individual Stations had already begun as part of the force's Critical Accident Debriefing programme to allow firefighters talk about the situation they had faced and to express their feelings.
"The sessions are designed to prevent them suffering any psychological effects as a result of what they had experienced and, if they require any further counselling, this is arranged for them".
A native of Derry, Mr Warren has served in Omagh for the past two and a half years and said he had found it a very friendly place. He is the Fire Safety Officer for Fermanagh and Tyrone.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0284
Published Date: 03-Sep-98
Related Images
