Fireman 'could not call for help'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6548541.stm

Version 0 of 1.

An injured firefighter's breathing apparatus prevented him from calling for help, an inquest into his death has heard.

Part-time firefighter Joe McCloskey died after suffering extensive burns during a fire at the Gorteen House Hotel in Limavady in November 2003.

The father-of-five, who was 50 and from Dungiven, County Londonderry, fell through the roof of a storeroom.

Day two of the inquest heard he had no radio and could not call for help.

On Thursday, the inquest in Londonderry was told fellow firefighter Stephen Loughlin was helping Mr McCloskey make a hole in the roof using sledgehammers.

Mr McCloskey fell through the roof of a store room.

Propane gas cylinder

The victim's initial pleas for help could not be heard because of the breathing apparatus, the inquest heard.

"It seemed like forever, I can't even remember how I got off the roof, it could have been seconds, I don't know," Mr Loughlin said.

He told the hearing that he was not aware of the extent of the fire, which may have been fuelled by a propane gas cylinder.

A lawyer for the Mr McCloskey family said: "You were not in a position, either of you, to communicate by radio to the breathing apparatus tallyman or anyone.

"The flip side of that is that nobody on the ground, as it were, would have been fit to communicate with you short of shouting up or gesturing."

The inquest is continuing.