Fire chief apologises over mine shaft death

After a Fatal Accident Inquiry into her death, Sheriff Desmond Leslie ruled on Wednesday the 44-year-old mother-of-two may have survived her injuries had she been brought out from the mine shaft sooner.

In a statement, Mr Sweeney said: “The report was more than 90 pages long and we are now taking the time to fully digest all it has to say.

“In the meantime, and for the sake of clarity, I would like to reiterate our deep and profound regret over this incident; and for the avoidance of any doubt, to apologise to Alison’s family and friends for its tragic outcome.”

Earlier, a spokesman for Mr Salmond said: “The first minister believes Alison Hume’s bereaved family are entitled to an apology for their loss.”

Criticisms were made of the emergency service’s “rigid” adherence to protocols and health and safety policies, with firefighters held back from saving Mrs Hume by cautious senior officers.

Mrs Hume, a lawyer, died from a heart attack shortly after being raised to the surface of the collapsed mine shaft, which she fell into while walking home from her friend’s house near Galston, Ayrshire, in July 2008.

At First Minister’s Questions yesterday, Mr Salmond said HM Chief Fire Inspectorate will look into the operational procedures of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue.

He told MSPs: “The chief inspector will be asked to carry out a comprehensive inquiry.”

Mr Salmond added: “There’s nothing in Sheriff Leslie’s determination which questions that the firefighters and fire officers on site, every single one of them, had the aim and attention of rescuing Alison Hume.”

The Fatal Accident Inquiry concluded Ms Hume’s death may have been avoided if certain “reasonable precautions” had been taken with officers unfamiliar with the rescue equipment.

Group command officer Paul Stewart was noted in the report for ordering a medic to take off his harness and abort his mission to reach Mrs Hume, partly because he should not have been using fire service equipment.

Sheriff Leslie said at least 18 fire officers had been willing to aid in the rescue but others wanted to stick by protocols.

The most senior officers stood by policy that Strathclyde Mountain Rescue Team should be called to rescue Mrs Hume, with crews arriving around four hours after a 999 call was made.

Sheriff Leslie said “flexibility and imagination” was required when dealing with such complex rescues.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said yesterday it was concerned Mrs Hume might have fallen seriously ill if brought to the surface using the vertical stretcher that was available to them at the scene.

Last night Mrs Hume’s parents welcomed the decision to hold a new inquiry, but only if it was “entirely independent of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue”.

Her mother, Margaret Cowan, 67, claimed she feared people were beginning to lose faith in the fire service’s ability to rescue those in peril. She said: “If this inquiry does not lead to something positive, the public will lose all confidence in the fire service.

“Some people have said to me that if the same thing happened again, they wouldn’t even phone 999 -- they would get a rope and do the rescue themselves.”

Mrs Hume’s stepfather, Hugh Cowan, added: “The fact the Government is now getting involved means they recognise there is a major public safety issue at stake here.

“They need to study the health and safety culture issue as well as human rights issues.

“They need to ask why people are using health and safety as an excuse for failure, rather than a reason for success.”

Willie Coffey, SNP MSP for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley, said yesterday a full public inquiry may be necessary to fully understand the events surrounding the death of Mrs Hume.

He added: “Alison died at the scene and we mustn’t forget we are dealing with a tragedy here. Clearly lessons have to be learned and senior officers have to recognise that.”

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service has refused to disclose if disciplinary action has been brought against any officers.