"They were two of our best firefighters" (From Bournemouth Echo)

"They were two of our best firefighters"

10:00am Friday 9th April 2010 in

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TRIBUTES have continued to pour in for two firefighters who died in Tuesday’s tower block inferno in Southampton as a fund has been set up to help their families.

The blaze at the 15-storey Shirley Towers block claimed the lives of Poole dad Jim Shears, 35, and Southampton firefighter Alan Bannon, 38.

The pair were the first firefighters to respond and were found unconscious a short distance from each other on the ninth floor of the building.

It is thought that the blaze was started by a curtain left draped over a lamp.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service set up the collection after being inundated with requests from staff and members of the public.

Former postman Mr Shears, of Oakdale, left a widow Carla, 33, and two sons Frankie, five and Ruben, four, while Mr Bannon left a widow Charlotte and five-year-old daughter Abigail Jayne.

Fire Fighters Charity chairman Keith MacGillivray said: “The extent of their loss is unimaginable, however they should feel immensely proud of the way both James and Alan selflessly laid down their lives whilst attending to the general public.”

Donations made payable to Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service should be sent to Hampshire Firefighters’ Family Fund, Finance Department, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters, Leigh Road, Hampshire, SO50 9SJ.

The two men’s colleagues on Red Watch at St Mary’s Fire Station have laid wreathes at the scene of the tragedy.

Watch manager Nigel Mottashed said: “They were two of our best firefighters, our friends, our colleagues, our best mates. We will miss their laughs, their sense of humour and their smiling faces.”

Royston Smith, chairman of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority, said: “In a world where some people can’t even hold a door open for another person, we have fire staff who will lay down their lives to keep us safe.”