Blast victim's life full of promise
The fiancee of one of the men killed in an electrical fire at Morley Galleria shopping centre is devastated to have lost the man who only recently asked her to marry him.
Irishman Alan Cummins, 30, proposed to Anita Ratten on September 21.
But instead of planning their wedding, Ms Ratten, 25, is now faced with the heartbreaking task of planning his funeral.
"I am devastated, that is all I can really say at the moment," she said. "But I also recognise we are not the only family who have been affected by this. It has upset the lives of many people."
Workmates gather at the scene of yesterday's fatal explosion. Picture:Mogens Johansen/The West Australian
The Kardinya couple met in Perth not long after Mr Cummins moved to Australia from Dublin about three years ago. It is understood he recently received permanent residency.
Several members of his family are preparing to fly to Perth from Ireland at the weekend to help Ms Ratten with arrangements to have his body taken back.
"The whole of the Irish community here in Perth is devastated at the loss of such a young life in such terrible circumstances," honorary consul to Ireland Marty Kavanagh said yesterday.
Mr Cummins was working with three others on a fault in an electrical switch room on Tuesday morning when an explosive fire erupted. Three ran from the building screaming and on fire but Mr Cummins did not get out.
The electrical trades assistant started working for Port Kennedy electrical contractor David Richards only days earlier.
Mr Richards, 50, survived with another employee, Glenn Smith, 48, of Kingsley, but both are in a critical condition with burns to about 50 per cent of their bodies.
Electrician Matt Hutchins, 22, was taken to hospital with burns to about 80 per cent of his body and died a few hours later.
Investigators examine the inside of the building. Picture Mogens Johansen/The West Australian
Mr Hutchins worked for High Energy Services, of Wangara, the lead contractor on the site.
It is understood he was one of three of the company's employees at the site when the accident happened. Two others are understood to have walked from the room shortly before the fire.
Yesterday, friends and colleagues of the victims came to the shopping centre to lay flowers and pay tributes.
About 25 High Energy Services employees arrived together by bus to see the blackened electrical room where the men were working.
Holding bright bunches of flowers, the group reflected silently at the scene before linking arms and forming a tight circle around a makeshift shrine.
Some wept openly while just metres away investigators were trying to piece together how the tragedy unfolded.
Strangers also brought flowers.
One woman, who asked not to be named, said the deaths sent shock waves through the Morley community and that no one should ever go to work and not expect to go home at the end of their shift.
