Mineshaft rescue death 'could happen again' before all fire crews are trained

• Fire crews will not have proper life-saving capability for pit incidents until 2012.

In the final day of evidence at a fatal accident inquiry into the death of Alison Hume, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue's head of training said that, even though rules had been changed, it could be nearly 2012 before Scotland had all its teams trained for some emergencies.

Managers at the service have also admitted that they refused to order Mrs Hume's rescue over fears they would face manslaughter charges if one of their staff was killed.

The 44-year-old lawyer lay 60ft down at the bottom of a mineshaft for six hours as fire crews – waiting at the top – were ordered not to use rope-lifting equipment to get her out. Mrs Hume died shortly after being brought to the surface, just 120 yards from her Galston, Ayrshire, home, by a police Mountain Rescue unit.

At the inquiry, Mrs Hume's angry parents demanded changes to health and safety rules to allow firefighters to "do their job".

Stepfather Hugh Cowan said: "Health and safety rules have gone mad. It has made the fire services unable to do their job, making their jobs horrendous."

Earlier, David Hutchison, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue's head of training, said officers could have been prosecuted had they sent more officers into the shaft. And he said it could be "another 18 months" before firefighters in Scotland were properly trained to carry out mineshaft rescues.

Mr Hutchison said: "There are ambitions to deploy that capability, but it would take between 12 and 18 months to train people to the standard required for this incident."

He used the example of a warehouse blaze in Warwickshire three years ago when four firemen died after the building collapsed.

The men were sent into the building after a risk assessment was carried out, but three senior fire officers face charges of "gross negligence manslaughter".

Mr Hutchison told the inquiry yesterday: "They may have been wrong and they are now facing criminal charges.

"The situation we faced in Galston was one where, had it resulted in the death of the firefighters and others, the officers who made that decision would have faced criminal charges."

He added: "Fire officers have to take difficult decisions. These can be very unpopular decisions. But you are potentially sending people to their death. It may have been reckless and dangerous to do so."

Mr Hutchison said: "The decision that the officer in charge made was based on the risk assessment and was, in my opinion, the correct one."

Procurator-fiscal Nancy Beresford rounded on Strathclyde Fire Service in an impassioned final submission to Sheriff Desmond Leslie. She said: "Evidence was offered from more than one source that if the same accident were to occur today, the procedure adopted by Strathclyde Fire and Rescue would be the same."

Because of that, she said, "some other system will have to be devised for conducting rescue operations that Strathclyde Fire and Rescue is not prepared to conduct."

Mrs Hume was walking home from a night out in July 2008 when she plunged into a dark shaft belonging to the Goatfoot Mine, which has been inactive for almost 100 years. Mrs Beresford told the inquiry at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court that the rescue operation was botched. She said: "There were communication problems almost from the start of the operation which hampered the rescue operation.

"The later officers seem to have had no contact with the paramedic who was standing by to treat the casualty once she was evacuated from the shaft.

"The condition of the casualty seems to have played a minor part – if at all – in the risk assessments that were being carried out by the more senior officers.

"Of particular concern to Alison Hume's family is the fact there was no overlap between the ambulance service and the Fire Service, in that neither service could call on a single individual who was trained in both disciplines. The failure contributed to the delay in providing medical attention to Alison and may have contributed to her death."

Alison's mother Margaret, 66, and her stepfather have attended every day of the hearing. Mr Cowan, 67, a former Strathclyde Police officer, revealed last night that he had uncovered serious gaps in the investigation.

He discovered that only Strathclyde Fire and Service chief Billy Thomson had provided police with a statement, when three other senior officers had also taken part. He also revealed that a video had been taken on the night by a fire officer, unknown to police or the fire service.

Last night, he said: "I stood in the garden from 3:30am, watching a fire officer filming the scene. But when I mentioned this to the investigating police officer, it had never been mentioned."

As a result of Mr Cowan's findings, statements were taken from other fire service officers and the video was presented to the court.

Sheriff Leslie will deliver his findings later.