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One of the island’s most senior police officers – who played a key role in investigating historic child abuse in Jersey – will be in charge of establishing exactly how and why at least seven islanders lost their lives in a major explosion on Saturday morning.
It was announced on Tuesday that Detective Superintendent Alison Fossey, who is the Head of Crime for the States of Jersey Police, will be the senior officer leading the investigation into what happened at the Haut du Mont estate in Pier Road.
It was also revealed at a press conference that the area where a six-flat apartment block was destroyed at around 04:00 on Saturday was now being treated as a crime scene.
And in a separate update, Andium Homes, who own the flats, said that there was a "redundant" Island Energy supply at Haut du Mont but, "...no gas was being consumed on site either by us or our residents. In September, we instructed Island Energy to disconnect that redundant supply from their mains network, off site."
Islands Energy later added: “We can confirm that, in line with Andium’s statement, there was a redundant Island Energy supply at Haut du Mont but there was no gas being consumed by either Andium or their residents.
“Outside of this, we are unable to comment on any details regarding works carried out on the property last week as this is part of an investigation and, as such, it would be inappropriate to discuss any information at this time.”
At today's press conference, Chief of Police Robin Smith said that 20 full-time detectives were currently working on the investigation, supported by UK experts.
These included the National Family Liaison Officer, who was working with the six Family Liaison Officers, the National Search Adviser and the help of the National Crime Agency.
However, he stressed that the “overall primacy” of the investigation would remain with the States of Jersey Police.
It was also revealed at the conference that an investigation into the cause of the fatal explosion will be carried out by independent experts because, in part, firefighters from the Jersey force had been called to Haut du Mont seven-and-a-half hours earlier.
Picture: A police officer stands on the cordon around the Haut du Mont estate.
Chief Fire Officer Paul Brown said that outside experts would be called in for transparency and also due to the service’s small size.
He said: “The most important reason is independence and transparency. The States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene on Friday evening; that has been part of the conversation so far.
“I think it is important – because my priority is on those who have been lost and people left behind – that everyone is absolutely assured about the openness and transparency and the relentless drive for the truth through facts, and that is why I am determined that we will have an independent view of the cause of the explosion.”
He added: “Secondly, it is more practical. This is a large, complex event. It would be large for anyone but for a small service like the States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service, you can imagine all of our resources have been drawn into the response.
“So, there is a resourcing issue there as well. We need to reach out in further phases as we have done to partners in the first phase.”
Concerning the Friday call-out, Mr Brown said: “There are two statements of fact: one, the States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service were called and attended the scene at 2036; the other is that the Service handed over to Island Energy at 2101.”
He added that the most appropriate way to convey more information about what happened on Friday evening would be through the investigative process.
“Islands Energy yesterday indicated that the type of explosion often indicates gas, but we do not know that, and I don’t know that either.”
The Chief Officer said that the investigation, which the service would fully contribute to, would be "complex and long".
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