15. There was evidence from Assistant Chief Fire Officer Hornsby that a Maxaman resuscitator had failed to work properly. It was delivering an oxygen flow appropriate to a "child" setting rather than a full "adult" flow. On examination, it was found that a retaining nut in the control knob had worked loose, possibly due to vibration in transit, and this had affected the flow of oxygen. The device had last been tested on 10 April 1989.
16. I accept the evidence of Mr Wells that the St John Ambulance cylinder was charged with oxygen and working properly. In my view, Dr Phillips may have been mistaken as to the cylinder of which he complains being empty. He agreed he was under great pressure, in an awkward situation; his head was injured and he became very angry at what he regarded then as wholly the fault of the police. He conceded that if the cylinder was not empty there was a possible alternative - that the master tank top valve was shut. It seems unlikely that he could have been referring to the fire service resuscitator as he was clear that the bottle he received was a simple piece of equipment not designed to breathe for the patient but merely to supply oxygen.
17. I conclude that on a balance of probabilities the evidence does not justify a finding that an empty cylinder was brought to the scene.
Calling the Fire Service
18. PC Bichard's call to police Headquarters at 3.13 pm for the fire service to bring hydraulic cutting equipment to cut metal fences (see paragraph 101 supra) was heard by Chief Inspector Edmundson. He went into the adjacent operations room to give instructions for the message to be passed to the fire service. There, a temporary control room assistant was already speaking to the fire service about a house fire. Mr Edmundson interrupted the call and asked the assistant to tell the fire service that cutting equipment was wanted at Hillsborough. There followed a conversation between the assistant and Miss Davies at the fire service in the following terms:-
| Police | Can we have cutting gear for Hillsborough, please - straight away? |
| Fire Control | Just a minute. Right - what's the address? |
| Police | Cutting equipment for Hillsborough football ground - straight away. |
| Fire Control | Hillsborough football ground? |
| Police | Yes, Hillsborough football ground. |
| Fire Control | What road is that on? Do you know? |
| Police | There has been a major accident, all the ambulances are up there. |
| Fire Control | What road is it on? |
| Police | I have no idea; Hillsborough football ground. |
| Fire Control | What road is it on? Do you know? |
| Police | "Hillsborough football ground - what road is it on?" (this was said to someone in Police Force Control) - "Penistone Road" (to Fire Control). |
| Fire Control | Penistone Road. |
| Police | Penistone Road, OK. |
| Fire Control | Penistone Readjust a minute - what's exactly involved? |
| Police | It's football, a big match, Liverpool v Notts Forest. |
| Fire Control | Yes, but why do you want us; you said it was an RTA [Road Traffic Accident]. |
| Police | No, no, no; major incident inside the ground. |
| Fire Control | Major incident inside - do you know exactly what it is? |
| Police | No, I don't; they want all the cutting gear. |
| Fire Control | For what - do you know? |
| Police | Hang on a sec. |
At that point Chief Inspector Edmundson intervened and spoke for the police. The conversation concluded:-
| Police | (Male voice) - Hello! |
