Family’s heartbreak over ‘amazing couple’ who died in hotel fire
TWO guests who died in a horrific fire at a hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond have been named.
Freelance writer Simon Midgley and his partner Richard Dyson, a TV producer, were on a weekend break at Cameron House Hotel, West Dunbarton.
Just hours before the fatal blaze, the couple, both from London, had posted photos online.
One image of the 18th century house was simply captioned: “Our home for the weekend.”
The blaze broke out shortly after 6.30am on Monday causing about 200 guests to be evacuated. The cause is still unknown.
Mr Midgley’s sister Nicky posted on social media: “It’s with a heavy heart I write this but this dreadful tragedy has taken two amazing beautiful hearted soul mates from me, my heartbroken mum and brother.
“Reading all your lovely kind words we are grateful. Thank you to all those who bravely made the effort to save them. Sleep tight. Fly high xxxx.”
Mr Dyson had worked on a number of popular reality TV shows for Channel 5.
Becky Holmes, who was at university with him, said: “He was an amazing man, a fantastic friend and he said to me very, very often how he had met the man of his dreams and was living in bliss.”
Yesterday, hotel director Andy Roger said: “The very swift actions of the emergency services undoubtedly prevented further tragedy. Everyone is hugely conscious that two people tragically lost their lives in the fire.
“Their families are foremost in our thoughts.
“The emergency services are true heroes. The firemen bringing out a couple and their child by ladder from a second-floor room was a heart-stopping moment.”
One witness described hearing the family’s desperate pleas.
Linsey Allan said: “The family were screaming: ‘Help us, we can’t get out and we’ve got a baby’. Then, the room filled with smoke, the lights went off and we didn’t hear them again. I was in tears and shaking. It was incredibly traumatic. Horrendous.”
An image of Jimmy Logan being carried down circulated quickly.
A fire officer is seen calmly negotiating his way down his ladder with the child cradled under his arm.
His parents Andrew and Louise Logan had been on honeymoon.
The one-year-old’s grandfather Peter Folkes from Evesham, Worcs, said: “It was a horrible moment when we learned it was the hotel they were at. The picture goes to show how brave these men and women are.”