The SJA and SYMAS staff present at this stage were those who had been at the stadium before kick-off. The accounts of several of the SJA volunteers stationed in corners of the ground indicate that they saw supporters coming out of the pens—either through gates or over the fence—but were initially unsure what was happening. As they got closer, they realised that supporters were being crushed; they began to treat casualties as best they could. They did so without any specific instruction from the police.
Two SYMAS officers were on their usual duty at the stadium: Station Officer Paul Eason (SO Eason) and Station Officer Patrick Higgins (SO Higgins). They were supported by Qualified Ambulance Officer Stephen Chippendale (QAO Chippendale) and Qualified Ambulance Officer Leslie Worrall. They were standing near their ambulance which was parked close to the gymnasium, the designated casualty treatment area at the stadium.
In a 1989 account, SO Eason said that at about 3.03pm, he saw what he believed to be a scuffle taking place in the middle of the West Terrace. He and QAO Chippendale walked along the perimeter track past the North Stand to investigate. As they got closer, they saw that several supporters were on the pitch and some seemed injured. SO Eason tried to radio SO Higgins to bring a stretcher and first aid equipment but couldn’t get through.
At 15:05:48, when Supt Greenwood was on the pitch, SO Higgins contacted SYMAS Control. He advised them that there were some crowd problems and that one or two may be injured, but he thought the injuries could be slight.
In short, SYMAS officers did not recognise the severity of the situation at the West Terrace any sooner than the police. They were positioned further away from the pens than the police, but even on arrival in front of the West Terrace they did not immediately identify that there were large numbers of casualties.
Very soon after SO Higgins had contacted SYMAS Control, the SYP Force Control Room did too. This was after the PCB had requested Operation Support. Recordings show that Police Constable Kenneth Rook (PC Rook) in the Force Control Room at first told SYMAS: “There's been an incident at the Leppings Lane End at the Hillsborough Football ground, where we may—we may need a few ambulances. It's just an advisory at this stage. There's been pushing and shoving and there might have been quite a few injuries.”
However, while PC Rook was speaking to SYMAS Superintendent Raymond Clarke (Supt Clarke), who was on duty in SYMAS Control, the SYP Force Control Room received an urgent radio request from the PCB for “a fleet of ambulances”. This was timed at 15:07:15 and followed Supt Murray’s message from the pitch.
The recording of the conversation between PC Rook and SYMAS Control shows that he passed this request on verbatim. Though PC Rook was not able to provide full details, he stated there were a lot of people injured. Supt Clarke replied that they would instigate an initial response and assess the situation.
