THE families of Alan Bannon and Jim Shears say they want answers about the failings that occurred on the night of the Shirley Towers blaze – and measures put in place to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

Relatives of both men – known fondly by their colleagues as Bert and Britney – spoke of a raft of unanswered questions surrounding their deaths, including whether or not they were adequately trained and if safety procedures were followed correctly that night.

Mr Bannon’s widow Charlotte – the mother of his daughter Abigail – and Mrs Shears’ widow Carla, mother of Jim’s sons Ruben and Frankie, both wept as family representatives addressed the jury on the first day of the inquest into their deaths.

They were also told about the two “brave and dedicated” men who lost their lives tackling the blaze more than two years ago.

Keith Trott, the brother-in-law of Mr Bannon, told of a man who was dedicated to his family but who had a “thirst for adventure” and was a natural born leader.

He had a lifelong love of outdoor activities such as caving, camping, climbing and mountaineering, and through his role with the Venture Scouts led a group of young people with severe learning difficulties on an adventure trip.

He said Mr Bannon was known for his dry sense of humour, laughter and outgoing personality, but also for being a calm and reliable member of the team who was prepared to speak up if something wasn’t right.

A family man, he was a hands-on dad who would be found at any family event, rolling around the floor entertaining his daughter, niece and nephews – but he would always be on hand to help anyone with a job that needed doing.

Mr Trott said: “Alan was a much-loved family man who always put others before himself and we need you, the jury, to help us understand the events of Tuesday April 6, which led to Alan and Jim’s death and to identify the failings that occurred in order that improvements can be made.

“We need to understand if breathing apparatus and safety procedures were correctly followed. All we want is for no other firefighter’s family to lose their father, son, daughter, husband, wife, brother or sister and have to deal with the grief that we have suffered.”

Gary Shears, speaking on behalf of his brother Jim’s widow Carla, said he was a man who only ever wanted to be a firefighter.

Having left university with an honours degree in biochemistry he initially worked as a biochemist but hated being confined to a lab. After several attempts to join the fire service in Dorset he was successful with Hampshire, and after tough training was posted to St Mary’s alongside “a really good bunch of lads”.

Gary described how Jim “fitted in straight away and never looked back”, adding that he prided himself on being the fittest person on his watch, but outside of work he was a devoted family man who was a hands-on dad, sometimes helping out at his sons’ school.

His lifelong love was judo, taking a gold medal twice at the World Firefighting Games and also becoming a coach and treasurer of his local club. His ultimate dream was to one day set up his own club.

Gary said: “Jim’s priorities in life were his family, judo and the brigade. Anyone who knew him loved him.

“He was at the heart of everything we did and our lives will never be the same again without him. He wasn’t a saint and wouldn’t want to be portrayed as one but he was our hero in every way.

“We miss Jim enormously and we know that nothing can bring Jim and Alan back, but from this inquiry we as a family would like to see lessons learnt and measures put in place to prevent this tragedy ever happening again.

“We would also like to find out if Jim and his colleague had adequate training and equipment to deal with such complex fires as Shirley Towers. This would satisfy a lot of unanswered questions.”

Before the hearing Chief Fire Officer John Bonney paid tribute to the officers.