A sheriff yesterday ruled that diesel oil from a white van on a country road was responsible for a crash that killed a hero firefighter.

A sheriff yesterday ruled that diesel oil from a white van on a country road was responsible for a crash that killed a hero firefighter.

John Noble, 46, a watch manager at Alloa Fire Station, died on January 23 last year when the fire engine he was travelling in ploughed into trees.

His crew was responding to an automatic 999 alarm call from Strathdevon Primary School in Dollar, Clackmannanshire, set off by burning toast at the school.

Following a three-day fatal accident inquiry at Alloa Sheriff Court, Sheriff David Mackie ruled that the diesel was spilled on the road by a white Renault van which passed the scene of the crash just seconds earlier.

The van was never found by police and the driver has never come forward.

Sheriff Mackie said there were no reasonable precautions that could have been taken by the engine's driver or other fire service personnel to prevent the crash.

The inquiry heard that as the Volvo fire engine, which was said by fire crew to be travelling at about 40mph, rounded a bend on the A91, near Tillicoultry, it left the road and careered into trees.

Mr Noble suffered injuries to his brain, legs, torso, face, pelvis, ribs and lungs.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. The married father-of-two was wearing a seatbelt. but it snapped in the crash.

Police accident investigators who attended at the scene discovered oily deposits on the road leading up to the crash site.

Colleagues of Mr Noble broke down in tears as they gave evidence at the inquiry. Christopher Robb, 27, who was driving the fire appliance when it crashed, wept as he told the court of the moment the engine went off the road - mounting a grass verge before impacting head on with the trees.

He said: "It was just the loudest bang I have ever heard. There was an unbelievable force of impact. John was still in his seat."

Mr Noble's widow, Lorraine, broke down in tears as Mr Robb added: "He was trapped in the cab and couldn't get out."

In a written judgment released yesterday, Sheriff Mackie said: "I have come to the view that on the balance of probabilities the speed of the appliance was about 40 mph - the national speed limit applied on the stretch of road in question.

"I accepted the evidence of Mr Robb that the speed of the appliance was such that it would have been well able to negotiate the bend safely under normal circumstances.

"It is a matter of sad irony that the call turned out to be a false alarm, a smoke detector having been activated in the school kitchen."

The sheriff added: "The oily deposits had occurred very recently and probably immediately before the appliance passed over this piece of road. It is likely that the appliance was the first vehicle to pass after the deposits had been made.

"The most likely explanation was of a vehicle having a loose or missing fuel cap causing oil from a fuel tank to be thrown onto the road surface, or of a container of diesel oil having fallen whilst being carried in a vehicle resulting in a spillage with the same effect.

"The officers agreed that the white van observed by Mr Robb as he entered the series of bends was probably the vehicle from which the deposits fell.

"Once the front nearside wheel went into the soft verge, the situation was characterised as irretrievable for the driver by a number of witnesses.

"The collision twisted the cab to the nearside with the front nearside bulkhead being crushed into the front passenger footwell, trapping the deceased's legs. It was found that the deceased's seat belt was severed.

"Although it is likely that it was to some extent frayed through use prior to the accident, there is nothing to indicate that it was weakened nor to suggest other than that the sheer force of the impact and the extensive damage to the appliance superstructure caused the belt to break.

"I close by expressing my condolences to Mrs Noble and the family for their sad loss and to the late Mr Noble's fellow firefighters who have lost a fine colleague and friend.

"This inquiry will have been a difficult experience for them, Mrs Noble in particular, but it is to be hoped that it will help to bring some closure to this tragic event."