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Slow progress in warehouse search | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Firefighters are inching their way through the rubble of a burned down warehouse in the search for their three missing colleagues. | |
Part of the first floor of the plant in Atherstone-on-Stour, Warwickshire, is having to be rebuilt, slowing the progress of the search teams. | |
Firefighter Ian Reid, 44, died in hospital after being pulled from wreckage of Friday's fire. | |
Darren Yates-Badley, Ashley Stephens and John Averis are still missing. | |
Up to 200 people are involved in what fire crews have called the "immensely frustrating" search of the packing plant, which is the size of four football pitches. | Up to 200 people are involved in what fire crews have called the "immensely frustrating" search of the packing plant, which is the size of four football pitches. |
Structurally unsafe | |
The search for the men began on Sunday and 12 search teams have so far gone 20m (22 yards) into the building. | |
They are thought to be 80m (88 yards) away from where they think the missing men are. | |
These professional men were doing their job of controlling a raging fire - with a tragic outcome - but their actions remain those of heroes Warwickshire's chief fire officer William Brown | |
Firefighters worked through the night, continuing their search | |
The building is structurally unsafe and special monitoring equipment has been put in place around it to check for movements. A steel girder fell during the search on Monday. | |
Police forensic teams are also inside the warehouse investigating the cause of the fire, which is being treated as suspicious, and items are being removed for analysis. | |
Jon Hall, assistant chief of Hereford and Worcester Fire Service, which is leading the search, said: "We are monitoring the situation minute by minute. The desire to see this through to the end is unstinted." | |
He added: "Due to the state of the building and the conditions crews are having to work in, we can no longer say how much longer this operation will take. | |
Recently married | |
"We will not stop operations until we retrieve the Warwickshire firefighters who are still in the building." | "We will not stop operations until we retrieve the Warwickshire firefighters who are still in the building." |
He said 150 staff who worked in the building had all been accounted for. | |
Outside Alcester Fire Station, where two of the firefighters were based, candles have been lit and floral tributes laid. | Outside Alcester Fire Station, where two of the firefighters were based, candles have been lit and floral tributes laid. |
Ashley Stevens and Darren Yates-Badley were based at Alcester | |
Mr Reid had worked for Warwickshire Fire Service for four years and was based in Rugby and Stratford-upon-Avon. | |
Mr Yates-Badley, 24, was based at Alcester and had only recently married his wife Faye. | |
Mr Averis, 27, was based at Stratford-upon-Avon and had been with the fire service for three years, previously working as a Ministry of Defence firefighter at Marlborough Barracks. | |
Mr Stephens, 20, was the youngest of the men and was also based at Alcester. He leaves behind a fiancee, Emma Crocker, with whom he had a three-month old son, George. | |
In a statement, Mr Stephens' fiancee, mother Sharon and father Paul, said: "Ashley was a wonderful loving father, fiancee, son and brother and he will always be in our hearts." | In a statement, Mr Stephens' fiancee, mother Sharon and father Paul, said: "Ashley was a wonderful loving father, fiancee, son and brother and he will always be in our hearts." |
'Our hero' | |
Mr Yates-Badley's wife, Fay, and his parents Mandy and Stephen Baylis, said he was "larger than life". | Mr Yates-Badley's wife, Fay, and his parents Mandy and Stephen Baylis, said he was "larger than life". |
"Darren treated everyone equally and with the same kindness," they said. | "Darren treated everyone equally and with the same kindness," they said. |
"We didn't realise the impact that Darren had on other people's lives and he is our hero." | "We didn't realise the impact that Darren had on other people's lives and he is our hero." |
Warwickshire's chief fire officer William Brown praised all the men. | Warwickshire's chief fire officer William Brown praised all the men. |
He said: "Our work involves us in often difficult and sometimes highly dangerous call-outs. | He said: "Our work involves us in often difficult and sometimes highly dangerous call-outs. |
"These professional men were doing their job of controlling a raging fire - with a tragic outcome - but their actions remain those of heroes." | "These professional men were doing their job of controlling a raging fire - with a tragic outcome - but their actions remain those of heroes." |