What is this country coming to?!

[PyroS]

A fireman has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a farmer was crushed to death when his cows were allegedly spooked by a fire engine's siren and blue flashing lights

Harold Lee, 75, died when his herd of 100 cows stampeded as he moved them along a B-road with his son, Richard, last August.
His family has claimed the animals were distressed by the emergency lights and sounds of the fire engine which was heading to a nearby emergency.

They believe the accident might have been avoided had the fire crew waited until the cows were safely herded off the road before proceeding.
Harold Lee was at the rear of the herd when the Holstein Friesian cows crushed him.

He was airlifted to Royal United Hospital, Bath, Somerset, before being transferred to Frenchay Hospital, Bristol. He suffered severe head and chest injuries and died six days later.
Police began an investigation and have arrested a 29-year-old fireman on suspicion of manslaughter by negligence.
The unnamed man, a member of the engine crew, has been bailed until Friday.

Mr Lee's elder son, Andrew, 47, who works at the family’s farm in Burtle, Somerset, has claimed the accident could have been avoided had the fire crew waited for a few minutes as the cows were safely herded off the road.

He said: "We have always said this incident should not have happened. My brother Richard said he tried to stop the engine coming through.

"He said a fire engine had frightened the cows and father was hurt.
"My father had been doing this for 50 years and there has never been a problem before.

"As a family we would like justice to help put this behind us as quickly as possible.

"Things are pretty raw at the moment and will be until we get some answers as to why he died.
"He was a family man and a community man, that was his life and he loved it.

"Hopefully this can be a step forward to justice for him."

A Devon and Somerset Fire spokesman declined to comment about the arrest but has said the crew was on its way to a road accident

Cows 'spooked' by fire engine trample farmer to death - Telegraph

[Andy_P]

Afraid I can see their point....

Imagine the scene... Tiny country lane, completely blocked by the herd of cows.
Fire engine comes blatting up and then sits there with it's lights and sirens going (or starts them up).

There's no way a herd of cows can be moved quicker by setting off your sirens.

[PyroS]

Originally Posted by Andy_P

Afraid I can see their point....

Imagine the scene... Tiny country lane, completely blocked by the herd of cows.
Fire engine comes blatting up and then sits there with it's lights and sirens going (or starts them up).

There's no way a herd of cows can be moved quicker by setting off your sirens.

Yeah fair point but who's life would be in greater danger, the farmer hearding the cows or the 999 call your responding to? Catch 22?

IMO it's a travesty if he's convicted of manslaughter.

[»PureParty]

Catch 22

not really..

By using the sirens so close to the animals you are in danger of causing another hazard, the cows won't recognise a siren and quickly move to the sides of the road

[njmchase]

Been a different story had it been the farmer's house or farm that had been burning down or his son etc trapped by a tractor...- then it would be "the fire brigade didn't act quickly enough" - blah! Accept it for what it is - an extremely tragic and freak accident!

[»PureParty]

Accept it for what it is - an extremely tragic and freak accident!

yup, you can certainly see it could be "spun" from an opposite angle.

[markt1967]

I don't think the fireman should face any charges as, I should imagine, the fire brigade training instructs them to make their way to the fire as fast as possible. And no, I don't think common sense comes into this scenario either.

Perhaps the fire brigade training should allow for different situations such as this, and instruct the firemen how to react accordingly.

Of course if the training they receive already includes this kind of situation, that's a different kettle of fish.

[»Skydazzle Pyrotechnics]

I should imagine, the fire brigade training instructs them to make their way to the fire as fast as possible.

I very much doubt that would be in any training manual.

The emergency services are required to obey the Highway Code unless

"if the observance of that provision would be likely to hinder the use of the vehicle for the purpose for which it is being used on that occasion”

If they make a judgement call to run a red light or drive at excess speed then they have to give due diligence to other road users safety at all times. If they have an accident as a result then they can be prosecuted under the same laws as any other road user.

While we may want a fire engine to get to a scene as fast as possible we don’t want that at the cost of someone else’s life.

And to quote a response to a question raised on the use of sirens in Parliament

“The use of sirens by the police and other emergency services is controlled by Regulation 99 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. This permits the use of sirens only when it is necessary or desirable to do so either to indicate to other road-users that the vehicle is responding to an urgent incident or to warn other road-users of the presence of the vehicle on the road.”

Stampeding a herd of cows hardly falls into the accepted use of Sirens. Let’s not forget the decision made to force a way past these cattle resulted in the death of an innocent person.

[sultanbrown]

I was going to post about this being a non story but then I see the man was bailed after arrest so he has actually been charged. It will be interesting to find out the details of this case...

[Corvale]

I'd be interested to know if the firefighter had any previous experience of working in a rural environment. Cows are funny creatures and react in very strange ways. One minute they are docile, then next you have half a ton of prime beef running faster than a man can. I've seen cows spooked by a carrier bag being caught in the wind.

It's indeed a very tragic accident and could be twisted to suit whichever side of the fence you are on. Perhaps it would all come into context if we knew the emergency that the fire crew were responding to, beyond it being a road accident. In narrow country lanes, it's unlikely to have been a major pile up, but we may never really know.

At the end of the day, firefighters provide us with a valuable service, where they are damned if they do and damned if they don't.