On 2 November 2007 a major

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

occurred at a warehouse near the village of

Atherstone on Stour Atherstone on Stour is a small village and civil parish about south of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 59. Parish church Atherstone on Stour's medieval parish church was demolis ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Four firefighters from the

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service serving the county of Warwickshire in the West Midlands region of England. The service covers an area of and a population of around 546,600 people. It employs 550 st ...

were killed whilst tackling the blaze. This was the largest loss of life for a fire brigade in the United Kingdom for 35 years. In 2012, three of their commanding officers were acquitted of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

charges and

Warwickshire County Council Warwickshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Warwickshire in England. Its headquarters are located at Shire Hall, Market Square, in centre of the county town of Warwick. Politically the county is ...

was fined for failing to ensure safety at work.

The fire

On the evening of 2 November 2007, a vegetable packing plant the size of four

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

pitches caught fire in a suspected

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

attack. Four of the approximate 100 firefighters from

who were mobilised to the scene were reported missing that night after they went in to tackle the fire. One, Ian Reid, was rescued but died later in hospital. Due to the debris and the instability of the building the bodies of John Averis, Ashley Stephens and Darren Yates-Badley were not recovered until 6 November. This was the most firefighters lost in a single incident in the United Kingdom since seven firefighters died while fighting a fire at a warehouse in Kilbirnie Street in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1972.

Subsequent charges

On 28 February 2011, it was announced that three officers from the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service would face charges of manslaughter by gross negligence over the deaths. On 6 May 2011, the three officers appeared at the Warwickshire Justice Centre to face the charges. Warwickshire County Council also faced a charge under the

Health and Safety at Work Act The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974c 37 (abbreviated to "HSWA 1974", "HASWA" or "HASAWA") is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that defines the fundamental structure and authority for the encouragement, regulation and enfor ...

of failing to ensure the safety of its employees. They were all granted unconditional bail. It was agreed both cases would be dealt with in the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

. A hearing took place on 20 January 2012 at

Wolverhampton Crown Court The Wolverhampton Combined Court Centre is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, as well as a County Court, which deals with civil cases, in Pipers Row, Wolverhampton, England. History Until the early 1990s, all criminal court h ...

at which Warwickshire County Council entered a guilty plea to failing to ensure the health and safety of its employees. On 18 April 2012, the three fire officers, Timothy Woodward, Adrian Ashley and Paul Simmons, appeared in court charged with manslaughter by gross negligence. The trial started at

Stafford Crown Court The Stafford Combined Court Centre is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, as well as a County Court venue, which deals with civil cases, in Victoria Square, Stafford, England. History Until the early 1990s, criminal court hear ...

on 20 April 2012; on 21 May the judge directed that Simmons be acquitted and on 30 May the jury returned a verdict of not guilty against Woodward and Ashley. Warwickshire County Council was fined £30,000 in December 2012.

References

External links

BBC report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warwickshire warehouse fire, 2007 2007 disasters in the United Kingdom 2007 fires in the United Kingdom 2007 in England 2000s in Warwickshire Building and structure fires in England Disasters in Warwickshire November 2007 events in the United Kingdom Warehouse fires