Fatal Accident Inquiry to be held into Cameron House fire
An independent Crown Office review has decided that a Fatal Accident Inquiry should be held into the deaths of Richard Dyson and Simon Midgley, who lost their lives in a fire at Cameron House hotel in December 2017.
The five-AA-star, 136-bedroom hotel admitted safety failings and was fined £500,000, while porter Christopher O'Malley was sentenced. O'Malley emptied ash and embers into a polythene bag and placed it in a cupboard which contained combustibles.
The Crown Office had previously decided that the circumstances of the deaths had been established and that the public interest would not be further served by an FAI.
Midgley's family subsequently exercised their right to ask for a review of the decision not to hold a Fatal Accident Inquiry. A full review was carried out by Crown Counsel with no previous involvement in the original decision-making process.
A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: "This was a devastating fire which caused two deaths and put the lives of many others at risk.
"During two prosecutions, information on the causes and circumstances of the deaths of Mr Midgley and Mr Dyson were presented in court. Meaningful changes have been made and lessons have been learned from the events.
"Nonetheless, a review by independent Crown Counsel with no previous involvement in this case has concluded that there are wider public interest issues around the safety of guests and building fire safety which ought to feature in a Fatal Accident Inquiry.
"The Procurator Fiscal has now started work to initiate this inquiry and there are a number of legal steps which must be taken before it can commence. The detailed work carried out in the preparation of the prosecutions will be invaluable in this process. The families will be kept informed of what will happen next."
