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Hillsborough disaster came out of the blue, says fire officer Hillsborough disaster came out of the blue, says fire officer
(about 3 hours later)
A former assistant chief fire officer with South Yorkshire Fire Service has said the service "didn't see the Hillsborough disaster coming". South Yorkshire firefighters "didn't see the Hillsborough disaster coming", an ex-assistant chief fire officer told the tragedy inquests in Warrington.
Alan Seaman said colleagues could not have foreseen an exit gate being opened letting in a large number of people who were not directed where to go.Alan Seaman said colleagues could not have foreseen an exit gate being opened letting in a large number of people who were not directed where to go.
The fire service was responsible for stadium capacity at the time of the tragedy in 1989 that left 96 dead. The jury heard a club director claimed emergency services did not take charge on the day of the 1989 tragedy.
Mr Seaman gave evidence at the inquest into the tragedy, in Warrington. The fire service was responsible for stadium capacity at the time.
The hearings are looking into the deaths of the Liverpool football fans following a crush at the Liverpool v Nottingham Forest FA Cup semi-final at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium, on 15 April 1989. Fire officers sat on a committee called the Officer Working Party, which oversaw Hillsborough's safety certificate.
The jury heard that in 1986 Sheffield City Council took over the role as the licensing authority for Hillsborough's safety certificate from South Yorkshire County Council, which had been dissolved. Ninety-six people died as a result of the crush at the Liverpool v Nottingham Forest FA Cup semi-final at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium, on 15 April 1989.
'Not professionally qualified''Not professionally qualified'
The city council issued new guidelines showing what responsibilities members of the committee overseeing the safety certificate had. The jury heard Sheffield City Council took over the licensing authority safety certificate role in 1986 from the dissolved South Yorkshire County Council.
It said the fire service would take on responsibility for capacity. The city council issued new guidelines which saw firefighters given responsibility for capacity.
But Mr Seaman said he did not realise that had happened until after the disaster in 1989 and the fire service was "not professionally qualified" to do so. But Mr Seaman said he only found out about this responsibility after the disaster, adding the fire service was "not professionally qualified" for the task which involved calculating areas and the condition of crush barriers.
Mr Seaman said as it would have involved calculating areas and the condition of crush barriers, he believed the role should have been taken on by building control or the police. He said this was better suited to building control or the police.
He added he didn't realise the proposals from the city council had taken effect. Nick Brown, a barrister representing seven Hillsborough families, read part of a statement from Keith Addy, a Sheffield Wednesday director from 1975 to 2007, to Operation Resolve, the police investigation into the disaster.
"As far as I was concerned, we were still on the South Yorkshire County Council system," he said. 'Chaotic scene'
"'I didn't become aware that it was other than that until after the disaster." 'In the statement, Mr Addy said: "I have no impression of any emergency services taking charge of the situation and can't recall seeing what emergency services were doing."
Mr Brown asked: "You did not get any impression of the services taking charge of the situation and your over-riding memory is that the scene was chaotic?"
Mr Addy replied: "Correct."
He also told the inquests that pen three - one of the ground sections where fans were crushed - "appeared full but not overly so" at kick off time
The hearing continues.The hearing continues.