TODAY relatives, emergency service workers, volunteers and an entire community will fall silent to remember those killed in the Didcot Power Station tragedy.

A deafening bang echoed across the town followed by a rolling wave of dust on Tuesday, February 23 last year.

Residents rushed to their windows and watched in horror as half of the 10-storey boiler house disappeared from the skyline.

Video - Blaine Morris-Smith

Within minutes blue flashing lights and sirens from all three emergency services raced through the town to arrive on site at 4.05pm.

After sending six ambulances, two air ambulances and its Hazardous Area Response Team, South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) declared a major incident.

One of the first people to feel the ‘eerie silence’ in the wake of the collapse was Graeme Few, a tactical advisor from SCAS’ specialist and resilience operations team.

Oxford Mail:

Mr Few at the scene of last week's Gibbs Crescent explosion, where he was also leading the operation.

The 45-year-old said: “In all my 20 years of dealing with major incidents this was the first time I was faced with an emergency of this nature.

“I was the on-call advisor for the 30-vehicle pile-up on the M40 but this was just something else.

“There was an eerie silence, it was very strange.

“I can remember there was dust everywhere, it was very thick and covered everything.”

The father-of-one remained on site until the early hours of Wednesday as he put the emergency services incident plan in place.

He added: “It was just a completely different emergency.

“From the sheer size of the power station to just getting a hold of how many people were actually missing, how many people were injured and how many were killed.

“We had staff treating the walking wounded while we were gathering all the information on those who were still missing.”

Oxford Mail:

The men killed in the tragedy: Clockwise - Ken Cresswell, Mick Collings, Chris Huxtable and John Shaw

An hour-and-a-half after the collapse it was confirmed that one worker, Mick Collings had been killed and a further three men, Chris Huxtable, Ken Cresswell and John Shaw, were still missing beneath 20,000 tonnes of debris.

Mr Few, who also assisted after the explosion in Gibbs Crescent, West Oxford, last week, added: “We sent in our Hazardous Area Response Team to start trying to find the other men.

“These people are paramedics who are specially trained in search and rescue, so really they are the best people to be looking.

“For us it was really important that we found those missing men and that we were aware of what the families must have been going through in that process. There was a huge amount of respect for them and I think that is what really pushed all of our team to do the best they possibly could for them.”

A further five people, two with serious injuries, were taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital and SCAS staff treated 47 people at the scene for dust inhalation.

Mr Few added: “Everyone had a job and knew what the goal was.

“Maybe that was why it was so quiet, everyone was so focused on trying to find those men and bring them back to their loved ones.”

It took a further seven months for the bodies of the missing three to be found and a police investigation continues on site to establish the cause of the collapse.

Investigations continue 

Oxford Mail:

Supt Rory Freeman

MORE than 60,000 images have been collected as evidence as police continue to investigate the cause of the collapse at Didcot Power Station.

A year on, more than 1,300 statements believed to be from workers and residents and 2,600 exhibits have been collected in the joint investigation between Thames Valley Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) with forensic archaeologists, metallurgists and structural engineers brought in to examine the growing evidence.

The body of Mick Collings was recovered on the night of the collapse but it took a further seven months before the bodies of Chris Huxtable, John Shaw and Ken Cresswell were found.

A further two people were seriously hurt in the incident, but police refused to reveal the extent of their injuries.

Supt Rory Freeman said: “Today will, I imagine, be another challenging day for the families who lost their loved ones in this tragic incident.

“My thoughts remain with them and those who suffered injuries, and we continue to support those affected and give them the answers as to why their loved ones lost their lives.”

It is expected that in the coming months the investigation on site will be completed and will then continue away from the power station. Police have yet to confirm an exact time frame for when they hope to leave the site.

Senior investigation officer Det Chf Insp Craig Kirby said: “We are entirely committed to uncovering why this tragedy happened and will seek justice for those affected, should any wrongdoing be found to have taken place.”

Oxford Mail:

Mark Coleman, managing director of Coleman & Company:

The managing director of the demolition company that was contracted to bring down the Didcot A site said 'today is the saddest of days.'

Mark Coleman of Coleman & Company said: "Our thoughts are with their families at this difficult time.

"They have endured the most appalling year.

"Nothing, no words or action, can bring their men back, or erase from memory the torment they experienced during the long wait to bring their loved ones home."

In recent accounts the company showed it had put aside £1.3m to cover the possible costs of the boiler house collapse.

Mr Coleman added:"Throughout they have shown tremendous dignity. It is essential that lessons are learned from this terrible accident so no family should have to endure similar agony in the future.”

He will be attending a private gathering with families at Didcot this afternoon.

Witness to tragic history 

Oxford Mail:

Picture. Blaine Morris-Smith

A GIANT plume of dust covered Didcot as families across the town watched a 50-year-old building collapse. 

And today those same families will remember the four men who went to work at Didcot Power Station last year and who never came home.

Great Western Park resident Claire Hann recalls being inundated with social media messages and emails from worried family members and friends after they heard about the collapse.

The 36-year-old said: “I remember hearing this terrible bang and I thought it had been a train crash.

“It made me look out of the window and there was just this sea of smoke.

“It was very difficult to know what had happened, there was not a lot of information to hand when it came down. I just assumed they had detonated something and had not bothered to warn us.

“And I went online and had these streams of messages from people who had heard on the news what had happened and wanted to find out if we were okay.”

Oxford Mail:

Lyn Bowen

Former engineer and the first to switch on the power station in 1970, Lyn Bowen said it should never have been closed in the first place.

The father-of-two who lives in East Hanney said: "It is terrible that the deaths of these men will always be in the history of the power station.

"They will never be forgotten and it is unimaginable what their families have been through."

Mick Galpin spent 20 years working at the power station and said he remembers a police car racing past him as he drove back to his Didcot home. 

The 65-year-old said: “I remember it being a big shock when I found out.

“The initial demolition of the site was very sad because it had been a good work placed for hundreds of people. It was a shame that its ending was surrounded by so much sadness.

“All my sympathies go out to the families of the men who died. I will have a thought for them today.”