An off-duty fireman who died after a fall on an icy road had an undiagnosed condition which caused him to suffer a heart attack, an inquest was told.

The coroner recording a natural causes verdict, said he was concerned Gareth Wyn Rees' condition had not been picked up in fire service medicals.

A pathologist said Mr Rees, 50, was "sitting on a time bomb".

The fire service said he was due to begin annual medicals and was "deemed operationally fit".

Mr Rees died in January after falling on an icy road in Harlech, Gwynedd.

Pathologist Dr Sue Andrews told the North West Wales coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones that although Mr Rees had struck his head, that had not caused his death.

Dr Andrews said Mr Rees suffered from high blood pressure and had an enlarged heart.

"In a way he was sitting on a time bomb. It could have happened at any time," she said.

The stress of the fall on such a cold night - 6 January - caused a heart attack, she added.

Recording a verdict of death by natural causes the coroner questioned why Mr Rees' condition had not been picked up in medicals carried out by the fire service.

'Concern'

"What causes me concern is that his heart was in such a condition that any situation cold have brought about his death," Mr Pritchard Jones said.

He added that firemen were called to stressful situations like fires and road traffic accidents.

"This could have happened in one of those situations where he would have been a liability to his colleagues.

"That's something I find quite horrific," he added.

Mr Pritchard Jones said it was a matter for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service to take on board.

"It will hopefully improve the standard of medicals to make sure that these cases are picked up at an earlier stage," the coroner added.

Speaking after the inquest Mike Owen the operations manager for south Gwynedd with the fire and rescue service said Mr Rees' death had been an "unfortunate, tragic event".

'Frequency of medicals'

In a statement, Ruth Simmons, North Wales assistant chief fire officer said their medical and occupational systems were consistent with other fire services, and included pre-employment screening, followed by three-yearly medicals involving blood pressure screening tests for cardiovascular fitness as well as other general medical checks.

"If there are any doubts about cardiovascular fitness we seek an assessment by a cardiologist," said Ms Simmons.

"At 50, the frequency of medicals is increased to an annual assessment and continues to include specifics in cardiovascular fitness.

"In this instance Firefighter Rees, who was 50, was coming up to his final three yearly periodic medical assessment after which it would have been carried out annually. His fitness assessments had always been on schedule and he was deemed operationally fit at all of these medicals."

Ms Simmons said they met on a monthly basis with occupational health professionals to review any complicated cases that may need more than regular medicals.

"Physical fitness is taken seriously by the service," she said.

"To ensure we are monitoring fitness we work closely with a range of medical practitioners.

"We would take this opportunity to reiterate that our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the family of Firefighter Rees at this time."

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