Man had ‘very slim chance’ of survival had firefighters acted quicker in Gosport lake death
TRAGIC DEATH Simon Burgess
A CORONER has called for better training for all emergency services after the death of a man in a lake.
David Horsley said there was a ‘very slim chance’ that if Simon Burgess had been pulled from the water earlier he might have survived.
He ruled the decision by firefighters not to retrieve his body from Walpole Park lake in Gosport was not a significant factor in his death, which he ruled was accidental.
However, he said he would be writing to all emergency services to recommend changes to their policies following the incident in March last year.
Burgess, 41, of White Lion Walk, Gosport, had fallen into the lake and drowned after suffered a seizure, the Portsmouth inquest heard.
Eyewitnesses had criticised fire crews for ‘standing around doing nothing’ while his body floated in the water.
In a statement, Hampshire Fire and Rescue service said: ‘The inquest into the incident at Walpole Lake in March 2011 has now been concluded and the actual facts and clarity around the circumstances of the incident have been shared. As a learning organisation we take this very seriously and accept the coroner’s verdict.
‘This was a tragic incident and our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mr Burgess at this difficult time.
‘Our officers and firefighters make difficult decisions and professional judgements every day, whatever the situation or incident. Their actions are based on training, balanced judgement and assessments based on the information and circumstances they are faced with in a dynamic situation.
‘Let us be clear, the decisions taken at the Walpole Lake incident had nothing to do with health and safety or the depth of the water. Our officers and staff made an informed assessment and judgement based on the circumstances they faced. On arrival at the scene, the officer and crews saw a body face down and submerged in the water, who we now know to be Mr Simon Burgess. That person was unresponsive and showing no visible signs of life. Based on this assessment, they prepared for the arrival of one of the Services specialist water rescue unit to undertake a dignified retrieval of the individual from the water.
‘Our officers and staff clearly stated, that if they saw any signs of life and the individual could be saved, they would have gone in to the water and followed rescue procedures.
‘Our officers and crews, followed our Service policy which is in line with national guidance. Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service fully supports the decisions and actions of its officers and crews on that day.
‘After this incident and subsequent internal debrief, we reviewed our water rescue policy and made changes based on our findings. These changes are in response to identified gaps in the existing policy and suggested changes by our staff. This builds on the effective water rescue response capability the service has developed in recent years.
‘We will now implement our updated policy into the Service and support our officers and staff as they continue to work professionally and respond to emergency incidents in the local area and across the county, taking calculated risks to save lives.’
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Friday 25 May 2012
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Comments
There are 19 comments to this article
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Duck House
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 04:06 PMsmashed_as_a_rat This was a basic rescuerecovery, it is not a new procedure, the pond is on Gosport’s station ground so they would have known the depth of it, a fireman with a line attached to him could have carried it out, with no danger to himself. As a retired fireman (sub officer) not in Hampshire Fire Service. I am not an armchair critic, over 40 years ago I carried out a rescue with another fireman on an upturned car in a flowing river. The Fire Service has gone down hill, even their assistance chief can’t be bothered to put his cap badge on straight (see photo)
smashed_as_a_rat
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 10:54 AM@Murf comment 11...this is a serious comment right ? You've missed the point by a mile. The term' learning organisation' means that the Fire and Rescue Service continually evolve techniques and operational practice by reflection and learning from experience e.g. ways to tackle new, previously unmet challenges, new and improved ways to tackle old challenges etc ie it is a 'learning organisation' . It has nothing to do with, quote ' learning on the job' and absolutely nothing to do with any lack of professionalism which what you based your whole post on. As an engineer, i would have expected you to know this. I agree, the Fire Service have egg on their faces over this. The point that sticks is they appeared to do nothing and the reason for that even more cringeworthy, but after all the banner waving and bandwagon riding by all these laymen posting sarcastic comments and opinion, who are they still going to call when their house is on fire - oh, the Fire Service, the ones who are ' pathetic' (quote 11) , 'don't have expertise or intelligence (quote 13), 'should all be sacked' (quote on another thread here). Has anyone here actually gone out of their way to speak to a fire fighter to get their side of the story? I don't support the Fire Service's non-action at that very time but i support even less the hypocracy of all these armchair critics.
seejay32
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 11:18 AMFreefall1 @ 15. I'm with Rickey @ 16 and others on this. You cannot assume that someone is dead unless you are medically qualified and have been able to make an examination. The very facts that the Coroner and the Fire & Rescue chief have said that training has to be improved and that 'lessons have been learned' points to the fact that the authorities got it wrong this time. The young man may well have been beyond help, but that's no excuse for not trying, and absolutely no excuse for preventing others from attempting a rescue. It's not the North Atlantic we are talking about, it's a shallow cockle pond!
rickey
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 10:25 AMFreefall1--Without checking you cannot be sure that a person is dead or not. In first aid you should continue resuscitation until a qualified medic arrives. The person who reported it was a middle aged lady, do you think she should have attempted it? They are called fire and rescue not let's sit back and be cautious. The fact was that no attempt was made and people who wanted to try were actively dissuaded. I am afraid that try as you may there is no excuse for total inaction.
Freefall1
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 11:50 PMIf he was face down in the water then by the time the emergency services had arrived, he would have been clinically dead!! Why didn't the person who called 999 wade in to attempt a rescue? The firefighters would have carried out a risk assessment on arrival and deemed it to be unsafe to go into the water. Do they know the depth of every body of water in Hampshire? I saw a police training video once and it showed someone drowning in an old quarry. Two officers jumped in without thinking and all three drowned (obviously it was a demonstration). It goes to show that not becoming a casualty yourself is the most important thing. They shouldn't be slated for being cautious!!
Duck House
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 11:39 PMAs a retired fire fighter (not in Hampshire Fire Service) On arrival a line would have been tied to a fireman who would have gone in to recover the person, never assume death unless certified by a doctor. Can't believe all this health and safety can apply to the fire service, possibly they may not have saved the man, but at least they could have tried. Since I retired over twenty years ago is their role no longer, save life, protect property, and render humanitarian services.
Le Critique
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 08:29 PMI always thought Firefighters were heroic types who would do what it took to rescue anyone who needed rescuing. It seems they are increasingly becoming health and safety by the book types who can pick and choose who they rescue. Of course if you are going to put yourself in obvious and perilous danger by trying a rescue you need to exercise some common sense but not even bothering to work something out because the health and safety manual says this or says that is a bit of a cop out. There are times when health and safety is a complete joke. I occasionally work at a well known quayside facility in Portsmouth. There is a health and safety officer onsite and when he can be bothered to venture out of his office he often picks people up on the daftest of things. I'm critical of him because when I'm working I very often see things that are completely dangerous. I think that perhaps he should be seeing and sorting out the things I'm seeing and moaning less about the little things he likes to pick people up on that could be regarded as petty. It does seem very often Health and Safety is a tool excuse of management to assert their authority for the sake of it. Some things and practices are obviously unsafe and need addressing but sometimes the book goes too far. If it was possible for these Firefighters to rescue this bloke and they didn't because they were afraid of disciplinary action for tearing up the stupid rule book then this is disgraceful!!! It's hard to believe a Fire Rescue crew don't have the expertise and intelligence to attempt a rescue and reduce the risk to themselves as much as possible. No more heros anymore!! It would seem.
MurF
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 07:28 PMAnother point, but this learning oragisation is learning by MISTAKE. That mistake may have cost a life. How many other life will be lost to the cause of Learning. Pathetic
MurF
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 07:13 PMPathetic is all I can say. For a Emergency service to say 'they are a learning organisation' is even worse. For an emergency service to work we need trained professional, not ones 'Learning on the job'. As an engineer, I have to have qualification BEFORE i start work, learning on the go just woudn't happen, I expect the same from all professions. So how much do we pay these people to 'Self Teach?' Didn't they do a course before going 'on street?'. Again all I can say is pathetic. If this were to happen to one of my family I would expect to talk directly with thoose 'professionals' and directly ask they why? When as they said ' an informed assessment and judgement based on the circumstances they faced' I would simply ask how? When no pulse, breathing rate or pupil dileation had been checked, again I would ask How? I would also ask if they had wellies waders.
p0mp3y
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 06:09 PMDespite deing told not to go in the lake surely these firemen must have felt the need (as the majority of people would have) to at least try and do something, so why didn't they just ignore the order? Cant believe they need special training to venture into water that is waist deep. Health and safety has become too much nowadays.
chris2
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 05:51 PMIt's no comfort to Simon Burgess' family to hear that the fire service is a 'learning organisation'. This wasn't an exercise: this was a man's life and they not only made a serious misjudgement in not going into the water themselves straightaway, but also prevented a policeman and a paramedic from rescuing Mr Burgess. At least we now know the name of the fire chief who made that fateful decision.
Richard B
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 05:42 PMI have to wonder what would have happened if the victim had been a relative of one of the police or firemen attending. Would do not get their feet wet have applied.
robin
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 05:31 PMThere is no excuse for the fire fighters. The chief should resign as he is not leading a team that you can rely on in an emergency
beiroot
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 05:28 PMI cant understand how anyone who is not a Medical Practitioner can make a judgement from at least 30ft away whether or not there are any signs of life.Surely only a physical examination is the only way to determine this and if there is any doubt all steps should be taken to try and preserve life.Condolences to the Burgess family.
rickey
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 05:25 PMBased on this if I were to fall in a 3 foot lake I would prefer a passer-by to attempt a rescue then wait for the so called professionals who just standby and actively stop any help being given. A police officer and a paramedic both wanted to help but were stopped by the fire officer in charge.
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