Cameron House f ire: We’ve been vindicated, say families
Probe identifies 5 failings that led to deadly inferno
THE families of two men killed in the Cameron House Hotel fire said they had been ‘fully vindicated’ yesterday after a fatal accident inquiry found deadly failings.
Sheriff Thomas McCartney made six recommendations to improve safety for hotel guests after raising ‘serious concern’ about procedures at the resort.
The inquiry identified five key defects that contributed to the blaze which killed two men. Simon Midgley, 32, and his partner Richard Dyson, 30, died when fire ripped through the hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond after hot ashes were left in a cupboard in reception.
Among his recommendations, Sheriff McCartney said that the Scottish Government should consider making sprinkler systems a requirement for similar premises.
Yesterday Scottish Hazards, the charity which has supported Mr Midgley’s mother Jane and her family, said they had been ‘fully vindicated’ after fighting for the inquiry to be held.
Chief executive Ian Tasker said: ‘While we welcome the recommendations of Sheriff McCartney, we now have to support the family and make the recommendations become a reality.’
Hotel operator Cameron House Resort (Loch Lomond) Ltd has already been fined £500,000 following the incident.
Night porter Christopher O’Malley was given a community payback order for his role in the fire, as he left a bag of ashes in a concierge cupboard.
The inquiry was held last year to establish if lessons could be learned from the tragedy on the night of December 18, 2017.
In his findings published yesterday, Sheriff McCartney found five ‘defects in systems of working’ related to the way the embers from the open fire should have been disposed of.
He also recommended that ‘robust procedures’ should be put in place to ensure ash from fires is disposed of safely, and to ensure all hotel guests are accounted for if the building has to be evacuated.
All staff, especially if they work night shifts, should also have experience of evacuation drills.
A delay in getting a list of the hotel’s 214 guests after the fire alarm was activated meant that around 90 minutes passed before Mr Midgley and Mr Dyson were established as missing, which the sheriff said was a ‘serious concern’. Both men
‘Torment of relatives
died of inhalation of smoke and fire gases.
Sheriff McCartney recommended the Scottish Government should consider making sprinkler systems a requirement when historic buildings are converted into hotels.
An expert working group should also be put together by the Government to explore the risks relating to voids and wall cavities, which had allowed the fire to spread.
Sheriff McCartney said Mr Midgley and Mr Dyson ‘were committed to each other and to their families. It is not surprising that their passing has had a devastating impact on family and friends’.
Jackie Baillie, Labour MSP for Dumbarton, said: ‘It is imperative that these recommendations are put into legislation straightaway so that no other families are put through the same torment the relatives of Simon Midgley and Richard Dyson have had to endure.’
Cameron House Resort director Andy Roger said: ‘The publication of the inquiry’s report is an important milestone for everyone involved, and especially for the Midgley and Dyson families.
‘In all our dealings with them over the past five years, they have borne their grief with great bravery and dignity.
‘We will now review the inquiry’s report in detail to see what further lessons can be learned.’
The Scottish Government said it would ‘thoroughly consider’ the sheriff’s recommendations.