GREATER MANCHESTER’S fire chief has said the service’s response on the night of the Manchester bombing fell “far short”.
In a statement following the publication of the Kerslake report Interim Chief Fire Officer Dawn Docx admitted: “May 22 2017 was Greater Manchester’s darkest hour and it is clear that our response fell far short of that which the people of Greater Manchester have a right to expect. I apologise unreservedly for that. 
“There were clearly failures in leadership and poor decisions made. As a result firefighters themselves, desperate on the night to attend the incident, were also let down by their senior colleagues."

The Kerslake Report findings
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has announced there is now to be a "whole service review" of the service. Ms Docx said: "I fully embrace this process and will be working closely with the Deputy Mayor [Beverley Hughes].
She added: “I want to apologise to all of our workforce who demonstrate day in and day out their bravery and commitment to keeping the people of Greater Manchester safe.
“We accept the findings of the report and as part of our new position within the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, work is already underway to fully implement the recommendations.

Greater Manchester Chief Constable's response
“The Deputy Mayor is leading a root and branch examination of policy, practice, leadership and culture within the service and North West Fire Control, and this will go well beyond the specific recommendations in the Kerslake report.
“The fundamental mistake made by the fire service that night was failing to communicate with our partner agencies and that is something at the forefront of our plans to change fundamentally the fire service and its culture.
“We must ensure that the principles of partnership working are deeply embedded within the service. This is about us acting together as one, which I know everybody, including all our firefighters, will agree with. 
“By working together we will ensure that the mistakes of that night are never repeated.”