the bbc that the response had been embarassing and shameful . my colleaguejudith moritz has been talking to a man who tried repeatedly to save the life of 28 year old john atkinson, whose family say he was badly let down by the emergency services. siren wails in the aftermath of the explosion at manchester arena, sirens screeched towards the scene. but the police were in disarray, paramedics mostly stayed out of the blast area, and the fire service didn t respond at all for more than two hours. firefighters were held back by their commanders at a station three miles away. we just waited and waited for instruction. this firefighter is speaking anonymously, for fear of losing his job. so, as time went on it was more embarrassing, and more and more frustrating, and then there s the feeling of guilt. well, maybe if i did something.
services to the bomb attack at the manchester arena in may 2017. the attack claimed the lives of 22 people and left hundreds injured. tomorrow brings the long awaited publication of the second of three official reports which will consider whether two of the victims might have survived had the emergency services responded more quickly. the report is expected to make serious criticisms of the police, ambulance and fire services. one of the firefighters has told the bbc that the response had been embarrassing and shameful. my colleaguejudith moritz has been talking to a man who tried repeatedly to save the life of 28 year old john atkinson, whose family say he was badly let down by the emergency services. siren wails. in the aftermath of the explosion at manchester arena, sirens screeched towards the scene. but the police were in disarray, paramedics mostly stayed out of the blast area, and the fire service didn t respond