Fire Service Fined Over Blaze Death

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has been fined £54,000 after it admitted health and safety breaches in connection with the death of a firefighter.

Ewan Williamson, who was 35, died as he fought a blaze in the basement of the former Balmoral Bar in Dalry Road, Edinburgh, on July 12 2009.

Sentence was passed on the fire service today at the High Court in Edinburgh following a hearing last month in which it admitted breaches under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Mr Williamson was working for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service - now the east division of the national service - when he died in the line of duty after becoming lost and trapped in the burning building.

He was the only firefighter in the history of the Lothian and Borders Fire Service (LBFRS) to die while tackling a blaze.

The SFRS took over from the eight regional fire services in 2013.

After passing sentence on the service today, Judge Lord Uist said: I wish to acknowledge and record the courage, dedication and professionalism of Mr Williamson, who lost his life in tragic circumstances while serving the public in the course of his duties as a firefighter.''

A statement was read by a solicitor on behalf of Mr Williamson's family outside court.

It said: It is almost six years since Ewan died while attempting to fight a basement fire in the Balmoral Bar at Dalry Road in Edinburgh.

He was part of a breathing apparatus team which had been recommitted to the basement only a very short time after their initial deployment.

There was zero visibility and he became trapped in extremely hot conditions before the seat of the fire was located and before any water had even been applied to it.

His death was unnecessary.

Had well-recognised firefighting procedures been followed that night, then Ewan, and other firefighters, would not have been exposed to unacceptably high levels of risk.''

It continued: In the week before he died, Ewan visited his mother's house for a family meal.

He told his family that he was worried about the lack of safety training being given to firefighters which he believed was due to budget cuts.

He went on to say that it would not be long before these cuts led to the death of a firefighter.

His words have been echoed by many of the firefighters we have spoken to since his death.''