A mum who has tirelessly fought for answers over her son’s death in the Cameron House blaze is calling on hotel owners and the Scottish Government to take action following a public inquiry.
Speaking to the Lennox Herald, Jane Midgley told how she is making her way through a 122-page determination published last week.
She attended the Fatal Accident Inquiry every day for three weeks when it was held at Paisley Sheriff Court last year.
The determination comes more than five years after her 32-year-old son Simon Midgley and his partner Richard Dyson, 38, tragically died in the fire on December 18, 2017.
Sheriff Thomas McCartney has highlighted “multiple defects” and said there were precautions which could have been taken.
Six recommendations aimed at hotel owners and operators, the Scottish Government and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have been made.
Jane said: “We need time to digest and understand the report and I am looking at the Scottish Government to act to prevent this from ever happening again.
“The fight for this has taken five years. I have been saying that as long as things don’t change this will happen again and one would hope that after all that has come out, hotel owners or anybody owning similar establishments would be looking at their health and safety measures, ensuring that they have a robust system in place. How many more businesses have actually got anything in place? And I would hope that they would be looking seriously now at what they have got, what training they have and what they are going to change.”
Sheriff McCartney’s recommendations include that hotel operators or owners should have “robust procedures” for the removal of hot ash from open fires and that “clear and robust arrangements” are in place for promptly ensuring all persons are accounted for.
The sheriff has also recommended that all staff, in particular night shift staff, have experience of evacuation drills.
He also made two recommendations for the Scottish Government: that sprinkler systems should be considered in conversions of historic buildings to be used as hotels and that ministers should create an expert working group to explore special risks in existing hotels and similar premises.
The final recommendation is that Scottish Fire and Rescue Service should reduce the time period between a fire safety audit inspection and the issue of a written outcome report.
Sheriff McCartney also said there were “a number of defects in systems of working which contributed to the accident resulting in the deaths”.
These included the full ash bins in the service area, “careless” disposal of ash in “unsuitable receptacles and areas”, the lack of a coherent system to empty ash bins in the service area when they became full and the “presence of combustibles” within the concierge cupboard, where the fire started.
In his summary, Sheriff McCartney said: “The immediate cause of the fatal fire at the hotel was the placing of hot ash within the concierge cupboard at the reception area of the hotel, which allowed a fire to develop within said cupboard and then spread to other parts of the hotel, exposing both deceased to the effects of smoke and fire gases.
“Precautions which could reasonably have been taken which might realistically have resulted in the deaths or the accident resulting in the deaths being avoided have been identified.
“There were a number of defects in systems of working which contributed to the accident resulting in the deaths and also a number of other facts which are relevant to the circumstances of the deaths.
“The Crown and the participants in their submissions offered condolences to the families of Mr Midgley and Mr Dyson. I wish to conclude by expressing the deepest sympathies and condolences of the court to both families.”
In January 2021, Cameron House Resort (Loch Lomond) Ltd was fined £500,000 and porter Christopher O’Malley, from Renton, was given a community payback order over the fire. The hotel firm admitted failing to take the necessary fire safety measures to ensure the safety of its guests and employees between January 14 2016 and December 18 2017.
The company admitted two charges of breaching the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005.
O’Malley admitted breaching sections of health and safety laws which relate to the obligation on an employee to take reasonable care for the health and safety of people affected by their acts or omissions at work.
Following the publication of the determination, Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said: “We welcome the sheriff’s determination. We acknowledge the deep and ongoing grief that the deaths of Simon Midgley and Richard Dyson have brought and understand that the wait for these proceedings to conclude has been extremely difficult and distressing for the families.
“From the outset the Crown has been committed to ensuring the facts and circumstances surrounding these deaths were thoroughly investigated by the relevant agencies, fully considered by specialist prosecutors, and aired in court, and now at a Fatal Accident Inquiry. The sheriff’s determination made important recommendations in relation to fire suppression systems for historic buildings and the need for improved guidance to raise awareness on fire safety and risk assessment.
“The procurator fiscal service will continue to keep in contact with the families and answer any questions they may have about the determination.”
At the inquiry, Jane described her son as “gregarious”, saying: “It was clear he had so much to live for and I still can’t comprehend how it was all taken away in a blink of an eye”.
She also told how Simon had found his “soulmate” in Richard, continuing: “Richard was a young man who brought so much happiness to my son’s life.
“He was gentle, kind and loving with a great zest for life and a wonderful sense of humour.”
Jane’s battle for answers has included successfully overturning the Crown’s original decision not to hold an FAI.
She has previously spoken out on her long wait for answers and is this week demanding changes are made during a meeting with Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC.
Jane continued: “I am meeting with the Lord Advocate this week and I am hoping that she can explain why this has taken so long.
“I hope she is looking at changes for the future so it doesn’t take years as this has.”
Jane also told how her “heart breaks” for the victims of a hotel fire in Perth on January 2.
Sisters Donna Janse Van Rensburg, 44, and Sharon McLean, 47, and Keith Russell, 38, died in the fire that took hold at the New County Hotel.
Donna’s dog Joey, a three-year-old King Charles spaniel, also died.
Jane added: “It brought it all back again.”
