Man quizzed on Bray fire released without charge
A senior fire officer arrested in connection with a blaze which claimed the lives of two of his men was released without charge today.
Firefighters Mark O’Shaughnessy, aged 26, and Brian Murray, aged 46, were killed in the blaze in a disused factory in Bray, Co Wicklow, in 2007.
The man, in his 50s, was detained yesterday morning under Section 13 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Persons Act on suspicion of endangerment.
Gardaí confirmed today that he had now been released without charge.
“On completion of the investigation, a file will be prepared and forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions,” a Garda spokesman said.
The families of the two firefighters have been campaigning for reform of the fire service in Co Wicklow since the men’s deaths.
They believe there was a delay in responding to the blaze as it was out of control by the time the two firefighters arrived on the scene.
Mr Murray, a 10-year veteran of Bray’s fire service, had warned superiors just three weeks earlier of dangerous practices in the fire service.
A woman, also believed to be a member of the fire service, was arrested in October, while a man in his 40s was detained in September.
Both were released without charge.
An inquest into the men’s deaths opened in November last year at Dublin County Coroner’s Court and was adjourned until this March to allow the garda inquiry to continue.
A plaque to commemorate the two firemen was unveiled at Bray fire station in September.
