Loch Lomond Fire: Inquiry says sprinklers should be mandatory

Sheriff at inquiry into fire which killed Come Dine With Me TV producer and his partner says Scottish Government should consider making sprinkler systems mandatory for when historic buildings are converted

• Richard Dyson and Simon Midgely were on a romantic trip to Scotland together
• A blaze broke out at the Cameron House Hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond
• Sheriff Thomas McCartney said in a report that sprinklers should be mandatory 

The sheriff at an inquiry into a fire which killed a Come Dine With Me producer and his partner has said the Scottish Government should consider making sprinkler systems mandatory for when historic buildings are converted. 

Richard Dyson, 38, and his partner Simon Midgley, 32, from London, died in a blaze at the five-star Cameron House Hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond in December 2017. 

Dyson, who worked on Channel 4’s Four in a Bed and Come Dine With Me, and Midgely, a PR manager, were on a romantic break away together. 

The fire started after hot ashes were placed in a concierge cupboard in the main reception area of the property.

Richard Dyson (left), 38, and his partner Simon Midgley (right), 32, from London, died in a blaze in December 2017 

Firefighters at the scene following a fire at the Cameron House Hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond in Scotland

An inquiry into the fire has recommended that ‘robust procedures’ should be in place to ensure ash from fires is disposed of safely. 

In a report released on Wednesday, Sheriff Thomas McCartney ruled all operators in Scotland should ‘have in place up to date and robust procedures, informed by an assessment of risks, to ensure that ash from open fires in hotels is removed and disposed of in a safe manner, thereby avoiding the risk of fires being started by the careless disposal of ash’.

In his 122-page determination, Sheriff McCartney also recommended that the Scottish Government should consider introducing a rule for a sprinkler system – or ‘active fire suppression system’ – to be made a requirement when historic buildings are converted into hotels.

The 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, after he put ash and embers into a cupboard with kindling and newspapers, causing the couple to die from smoke inhalation. 

A fatal accident inquiry was held last year to establish if lessons could be learned from the incident.

The inquiry was previously shown footage of the terrifying moment when O’Malley opened the concierge cupboard in the morning of 18 December 2017 to discover flames and smoke spewing out of the small room just off the reception area. 

It also heard that Dyson and Midgely had tried to smash a window to escape the blaze – but had only managed to break one pane.  

The inquiry was shown security camera footage of the moment night porter Christopher O’Malley opened the concierge cupboard in the morning of December 18 that year to discover flames and smoke spewing out of the small room just off the reception area

More than 200 guests were evacuated from the building during the fire, including a family of two adults and a child who were rescued by ladder and taken to hospital

PR manager Simon Midgley, 32, and his partner TV producer Richard Dyson, 38, from London, died following the blaze at the five-star Cameron House Hotel near Balloch on the banks of Loch Lomond, in December 2017

The report said that at Cameron House Hotel, there were ‘a number of defects in systems of working which contributed to the accident resulting in the deaths’.

These included the ‘careless disposal of ash’ on the night of the fire.

Sheriff McCartney ruled that both Mr Midgely and Mr Dyson died as a result of the ‘inhalation of smoke and fire gases due to the hotel fire’.

He said a ‘reasonable precaution’ would have been for the hotel to have a ‘clear system of work for the safe cleaning and removal of ash from the open fires’, and for ‘appropriate training’ in this to be provided.

He also said a delay in obtaining a guest list after the fire had resulted in a ‘delay in carrying out an accurate roll call’ of people who had been in the building.

Sheriff McCartney went on to recommend hotel operators in Scotland should ‘ensure that clear and robust arrangements are in place for promptly ensuring all persons are accounted for in the event of evacuation’.

Mr Midgley’s mother Jane (pictured) told an inquest in Wakefield that her son had phoned her from the hotel the night before the blaze 

Dumbarton Sheriff Court heard in January 2021 that the fire started after O’Malley emptied ash and embers from a fuel fire into a polythene bag, and then put it in a cupboard which contained kindling and newspapers.

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.

Since the hotel reopened in September 2021, the inquiry was told, there have been revised fire safety procedures in place and new fire safety measures including sprinklers and updated alarms.

An inquest held in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, where the men grew up, heard from Mr Midgley’s mother Jane in April 2021.

She said her son had phoned her from the hotel on December 17, 2017, saying the couple were ‘having a fabulous time’ at the Scottish retreat.

Mrs Midgley, from Pudsey, Leeds, told the inquest: ‘(He told me) I’m drowning in dreams, mother dear. And I promise you life is going to be good from now on

‘(He said) I’m so looking forward to spending Christmas with you. Don’t forget my pigs-in-blankets.’

Firefighters at the scene following a fire at the Cameron House Hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond in Scotland

Jane Midgley previously said her son had phoned her from the hotel on December 17, 2017, saying the couple were ‘having a fabulous time’ at the Scottish retreat

‘Everything was normal, he was so excited.’

The court heard just hours after the call, at around 6:39am on December 18, 2017, an alarm sounded after staff noticed smoke coming from a cupboard.

As fire tore through the hotel, an evacuation of more than 200 guests was carried out before it was established at 8am that Mr Midgley and Mr Dyson were missing.

Firefighters recovered them from the second floor, but the couple were found to have died as a result of smoke and fire gas inhalation.

Firefighter Phillip Douglas told the Fatal Accident Inquiry that him and his colleagues were told to flee the hotel, situated on the banks of Loch Lomond, near Balloch, over fears it might collapse. 

When the 35-year-old and his team were allowed back in, he could see very little in the corridors and was using his feet and hands to check the area.

At one point, he kicked what he thought was debris and was actually the leg of Mr Dyson who was lying on the floor unconscious.

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