Herbie Fennell and Noel Watson: Gold Coast firefighters died in Southport Honda blaze in February 1994
The deaths in the line of duty of firefighters Herbie Fennell and Noel Watson was a tragedy which rocked the Gold Coast community. THE TRAGIC STORY
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A fire erupts inside the Southport Honda bike shop in the early hours of February 11, 1994 and a message comes crackling through the radio that sends a chill down 33-year-old Raymond Ware’s spine.
Mr Ware, now 63, recalled the moment he arrived to find two of his mates and fellow firefighters dead on the scene.
“That particular night I was moved to another station,” he said. “Then I was called to back-up that incident.
“We had word go over the radio that we had a couple of our firefighters missing.
“To us that’s an extremely scary point.”
Mr Ware is among only a handful of active firefighters who witnessed the tragic fire that claimed the lives of Herbie Fennell and Noel Watson.
Herbie had been working 20 years as a firefighter while Noel had only been a firefighter for four.
Station officer Michael Evans, 53, was just 23 years old when the tragic incident unfolded.
“I joined the fire service with Noel and was close with him,” Mr Evans said.
“When I think of Herbie and Noel, I can only smile.
“They were great people. It’s one of your worst nightmares as a firefighter, having to lose some very close mates it’s a very difficult situation.
“All fires we go to have that possibility and risk associated with it. And we’re aware of the risks. Unfortunately that one took a tragic turn.”
Queensland Fire and Emergency Service Superintendent for the Gold Coast Gregory Tomlinson said firefighting was Herbie and Noel’s “calling”.
“It’s not a job for everyone that’s for sure, but firefighting was their calling,” he said.
“They paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty protecting the community. To lose two of our own it’s just devastating, but every year we honour them to remember their sacrifice.”
Mr Tomlinson said it was an important reminder especially to the new generation of firefighters of the life-threatening risks they face to protect the community.
Mr Ware, now a station officer in charge of his own crew, recalled watching Herbie in his journey to become a station officer.
“I was part of Herbie’s crew and watching all the different steps he went through as part of becoming an officer,” Mr Ware said.
“He was just a lovely, lovely person, very professional as a firefighter. Personally I think they’d be laughing (at me) wondering how I could possibly had it to this position myself.
“But now that I am in this position, I remind my crew every time we go to a job that it doesn’t matter what incident we go to, the most important thing is that we go home at the end of our night to our families who see us and can love us forever.”
5M FROM SAFETY: COAST FIREFIGHTERS’ TRAGIC DEATHS BATTLING FIERCE BLAZE
The deaths of firefighters Herbie Fennell and Noel Watson was a tragedy which rocked the Gold Coast community.
The pair, both of whom were dedicated emergency service workers, were killed 30 years ago this weekend while on duty.
The devastating event led to changes in the way firefighters operate which remain in force today.
The tragedy began when a fire broke out in the Honda dealership on Southport-Nerang Road at 1.47am on February 11, 1994.
The building was well-alight when officers arrived on-scene to find it “piled high with rubber tyres, motorbikes and parts”.
The crew immediately prepared to fight the fire, with both experienced fighters going in wearing their air tanks and masks.
Mr Fennell, a Coombabah resident, had more than 20 years experience on the job while Mr Watson had served for more than four years.
The ran into the burning building together while a colleague waited outside counting the time until their tanks would be empty.
They never returned.
At the time oxygen tanks had 45m of air, with a warning whistle blown 10 minutes before they were due to run out.
It was believed threat the heavy smoke and tires stacked up blocking the exists made it difficult for the men to escape.
A search of the smoke-filled burning remains of the building began at 3.30am and found the pair dead, both having run out of oxygen.
They were just 5m from the door and only 200m away from Southport Fire Station.
The pair were the first firefighters in the state to die since Chris Warburton’s 1989 electrocution.
Queensland Fire Services Commissioner Geoff Skerritt gave an emotional press conference hours after the grim discovery and praised his colleagues as heroes.
“The tragedy of this is that they were very close to safety.’
“They were probably not more than five metres from the actual exit.
“They are just brave people; they are typical of our firefighters and they are just courageous and they are heroes.’’
Then-emergency services minister Tom Burns said the loss was devastating.
“It breaks my heart to think that we send blokes into a fire like that and that the families have lost two good brave men,’’ he said.
“If there’s something wrong with our procedures, we’ll change them.
“There’s no way in the world this Government’s going to allow people to be working in unsafe conditions.’’
A coronial inquest into the tragedy was held in 1995 and was told firefighters going into smoke-filled buildings were backed up by “very little’’ monitoring to ensure they were safe.
Anger remained palpable a decade later in 2004 when United Firefighters Union Queensland vice-president and Occupational Health and Safety Co-ordinator, Mark Gribble said not enough had been done to address the issues.
“They (QFRS) have taken minute steps forward when they have the ability to take quantum leaps,” he told the Bulletin at the time.
“The recommendations have been addressed sufficiently in working terms, but surely there is more that can be done.”
Then-QFRS Commissioner Lee Johnson at the time insisted there had been long-term changes.
“It is a completely different fire service to that of ten years ago,” he said.
“I feel that there are only really two recommendations which the service has not yet achieved.”
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