Ewan Williamson died at a fire in the Balmoral Bar, Edinburgh on Sunday the 12th of July 2009.
At 0038 today Sunday 12th July 2009 crews from Lothian and Borders Fire Service responded to a fire in a public house in the Dalry area of Edinburgh. On arrival crews were confronted with a severe fire. Whilst tackling the fire a breathing apparatus crew of two firefighters was injured by the collapse of an internal floor. Tragically, despite the efforts of his colleagues one of the firefighters lost his life. The other firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary before being released earlier this morning.
Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service is devastated by this tragic event. Our Service is a close knit community and we are absolutely shattered by this loss and our thoughts are also with our injured colleague. Every single member of the Service is thinking about the family of the deceased firefighter and the family of our injured colleague. This is a tragic day for our Service.
This is the first death in Service in Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service since the early 1990s and this highlights the dangers of our chosen profession. It also highlights that there is no such thing as a routine incident. A full investigation is underway and the internal investigation team is being led by Mike Dunne, Director of Service Delivery, in full consultation with the FBU.
At the height of the incident a total of 16 fire appliances including 11 pumps attended with approximately 70 firefighters under the command of Alex Clark, Director of Human Resources,. The cause of the fire is not yet known and an investigation will be carried out by both Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service and the Police.
Once again can I express my sincere sympathies to the families of those involved and add my thanks to all the Firefighters and Emergency control staff who have dealt with these difficult circumstances so professionally. I know as a Service we will pull together to support each other through this very difficult time.
(Message from the Chief Fire Officer Brian Allaway.)
Firefighter Ewan Williamson was stationed at Tollcross Fire Station in Edinburgh. He was 35.
Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service can confirm that a full Fire Service funeral ceremony for Firefighter Ewan Williamson will take place on Wednesday 22nd July 2009 in Edinburgh.
The details of the funeral are as follows:
Firefighters from Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service will line the
route, with Firefighters from Green Watch, Tollcross acting as a Guard of
Honour. Area Manager John Dickie will lead the parade. The Service welcomes members of the public who wish to pay their respects to
Ewan to line the route of the parade
Ewan Williamson
Today we remember Firefighter Ewan
Williamson of Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on the 17th anniversary of his
death.
At 00:38am, on 12 July 2009, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service control received a
999 call to a fire at the Balmoral Bar,Dalry Road Edinburgh.
The pre determined attendance was duly ordered including Tollcross Fire Station
including Ff Williamson.
On arrival crews observed ‘smoke issuing’ and signs of a developed fire.
Ff Williamson formed part of a Breathing Apparatus (BA) crew committed to the
basement of the building to tackle the fire where it originated.
As the fire developed, additional crews were committed at ground floor level to
fight the fire.
On observing the serious nature of the fire a ‘make pumps 5’ assistance message
was transmitted to fire control.
This was soon increased to ‘make pumps 7’ for additional BA.
Ff Williamson & his BA partner exited the building on expiration of their air
cylinders, swiftly replenished them and awaited redeployment into the fire.
10 minutes later the team was re committed to continue firefighting operations
in the basement.
The decision was taken to smash all of the windows at ground floor level to aid
visibility. This ventilation action created a ventilation pathway rapidly
increasing temperature in the building.
A short while later a BA wearer exited the building missing his partner (Ff
Williamson) which he hadn’t realised.
The entry control officer asked where Ff Williamson was and contacts Ff
Williamson by radio. Ff Williamson stated he was lost and appeared to be in a
toilet. Ff Williamson’s BA partner re entered to locate him.
Another BA team attempted to descend into the basement but are beaten back by
heat.
Ff Williamson began transmitting that he was in distress and was instructed to
manually activate the Automatic Distress Signal Device (ADSU) which emits an
alarm alerting others to a BA wearer trapped or in distress.
There was no response to this instruction and the crews attempting to access the
basement did not hear the ADSU alarm
At this point a ‘BA Emergency’ was declared and transmitted to fire control,
indicating that BA wearers are missing.
Crews were committed in BA to search for Ff Williamson but many did not take
firefighting hose lines and could not progress due to the heat present.
Teams located a door in the basement and struggled to get it open. A warning was
shouted out that the floor was going to collapse. In haste to get the door open
a Firefighter forced it and was engulfed in flames as the floor collapsed and he
fell partially through.
Crews began to urgently withdraw due to the collapsing situation.
At 01:54 a further assistance message was transmitted to ‘make pumps 9’.
Ff Williamson’s BA partner exited the building and was immediately removed to
hospital with burns and effects of extreme heat.
Crews forced an entry through security bars on a pavement light leading the the
toilets. As a BA team entered they found Ff Williamson collapsed on the floor.
Further BA crews were committed to assist in his removal from the building.
Ff Williamson was removed from the building at 03:03 and immediately conveyed to
hospital where he was pronounced deceased on arrival.
Ff Williamson had succumbed to extreme heat and burns as a result of collapse of
the floor above.
Efforts by initial BA crews were effective to limit fire spread,enabling other
Firefighters to make multiple rescues of occupants from the apartments on three
floors above,who were trapped by the fire.
16 people, including a baby were rescued by Firefighters.
Ewan Williamson was only 35 years of age at the time of his death
May he rest in eternal peace.
(From a post on The Fire Brigade Museum Facebook Page. 12/7/2026.)
Elizabeth Emblem Awarded
Firefighter Ewan Williamson, who
tragically died responding to a fire in Edinburgh in July 2009, was posthumously
awarded the Elizabeth Emblem at a Commemoration Service in front of St Giles’
Cathedral in Edinburgh today.
The Commemoration Service was attended by Firefighter Williamson’s family,
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Deputy Chief Officer Andy Watt, Deputy Lord
Provost Lezley Marion Cameron, alongside representatives from the Fire Brigades
Union.
During the Service, a minute’s silence was observed followed by a wreath laying
ceremony.
DCO Watt said: “Seventeen years ago Firefighter Ewan Williamson lost his life in
the line of duty. Ewan, his family, friends, colleagues and loved ones, will
always remain in our thoughts.
“Today, Ewan’s sister Rebecca received the Elizabeth Emblem on his behalf, which
recognises the ultimate sacrifice made by Ewan, and the extraordinary lengths
our firefighters go to, to protect and serve Scotland’s communities.
“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will always remember Ewan. We will
continue to commemorate his life and honour his selfless dedication and
bravery.”
(From a post on Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Facebook Page. 11/7/2026.)