Three fire officers have now been cleared of manslaughter offences relating to the death of four fire-fighters at a fire in Atherstone-on-Stour in 2007. During the trial at Stafford Crown Court a watch commander was acquitted on the direction of the trial judge.
At the end of the trial, the jury returned Not Guilty verdicts in respect of the remaining two defendants.
The fire authority, Warwickshire County Council, has already pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and is awaiting sentence.
It will be interesting to see whether any issues arising from this case will be relevant to the prosecution of Wicklow County Council for breaches of health and safety legislation in respect of the Bray fire deaths. The trial date for that case has been set for 29 May 2013.