Alison Hume death: Rules which held up rescue are slammed as 'morally indefensible'

A RETIRED firefighter has said that rules which delayed the rescue of a woman who died after falling down a disused mine shaft were "morally indefensible".

Speaking at a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the events surround the death of Alison Hume, former watch commander John Bowman, said that he had been involved in heated discussions with senior officers over the rules.

He was giving evidence into a reopened inquiry into the death of 44-year-old Ms Hume, who fell down the 40ft disused mineshaft in Galston, Ayrshire, in 2008.

The inquiry had already heard that she lay trapped for six hours and later died in hospital after health and safety rules prevented Strathclyde firefighters from rescuing her.

Mr Bowman, 51, who retired last year after 32 years service, said that when he heard a woman had died after lying in a mineshaft for six hours while firemen stood by on the surface, he confronted the officer who gave the order.

Mr Bowman, who had told colleagues to ignore the rule, said: "I made a point of meeting Charles McGrattan in his office and told him, 'I told you this would happen.' He stood there looking at the carpet and said nothing. I was angry."

Ms Hume, a solicitor and mother-of-two, was eventually hoisted up by police mountain rescue volunteers but suffered a heart attack just as she reached the surface.

A fatal accident inquiry at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court was adjourned at the end of March after Sheriff Desmond Leslie finished hearing evidence.

Mr Bowman later wrote to Sheriff Leslie asking to give evidence as a late witness after being encouraged by serving firefighters and his family.

The Crown appealed successfully to have the inquiry reopened after Strathclyde Fire and Rescue had opposed the move.

Before the tragedy in 2008, Mr Bowman had been tasked with drafting new instructions for firefighters to implement rules about safe working at height.

A harness which was ideal for rescuing casualties who had fallen was being brought in to replace the older line rescue gear.

Mr Bowman, of Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire, said: "There was no distinction at this stage over who you rescued, uniformed or non-uniformed. It was purely updating what we did before."

He described as a "bolt out of the blue" when he was told by area commander Charles McGrattan the new harness was not to be used on the public.

"What I was told was that in negotiations between the Fire Brigades Union and management it was decided to reclassify the safe working at height pack as technical line rescue," Mr Bowman added.

He said a small number of firefighters trained in "ancillary" operations such as water rescues and incidents at sea were already paid extra for those duties.

"The implications were that the safe working at height training would be universal so everyone would be entitled to the payment," Mr Bowman said.

Mr Bowman went on: "Right from the outset the safe working at height pack was designed to be used by everyone, so it pulled the rug out to say it was now a technical rescue."

Mr McGrattan told Mr Bowman to write a memo ordering firefighters to use the new harness only on other crew members but not the public.

The firefighter was subsequently contacted by worried colleagues after the memo went out, and gave them unofficial guidance that, where it was necessary, to effect a rescue before "someone turns up to stop you".

Gregor Forbes, solicitor for Alison's family, asked Mr Bowman whether the memo about not rescuing non-fire service personnel was for economic reasons.

He replied: "Yes sir. It was the only explanation I was given."

Sheriff Leslie praised Mr Bowman's courage for coming forward. The inquiry was adjourned until a later date to allow Mr McGrattan to give evidence.