Thomas Lightfoot died after taking ill on the way to a fire on the 2nd July, 1996.
Tragedy of firefighter
Driver dies from heart attack after blaze dash
By Roisin Spinks
A PORT Glasgow
firefighter collapsed and died as his colleagues battled to bring a massive
house fire under control
Tommy Lightfoot (49)
took ill on the way to the blaze in Kilmacolm early this morning.
Concerned colleagues called for an ambulance to meet them at the scene of the
blaze but the popular firefighter died on the way to hospital
It is thought the father-of-three, who lived in Largs, suffered a heart attack.
The fire at 5 Victoria Gardens, home of the Dingsdale family, is being treated
as suspicious by fire investigators.
Police have already carried out
house-to-house enquiries in the quiet residential street.
The blaze is believed to-have started to the garage and spread to the car,
caravan and front porch area of the modern luxury home.
The massive blaze could be clearly seen from flats nearly a mile away.
Villagers were woken by the sound of shouting and explosions just before lam.
“There was a sound like an explosion and then I saw the flames, said one
villager.
“I wanted to go and help but there were already so many people there. I could
hear shouting telling folk to get out of the way."
Port Glasgow firefighters took nearly an hour to bring the fire under control.
Two crews from Port Glasgow attended the blaze.
They were unable to save the car and caravan which were completely burnt out.
Strathclyde Fire Brigade have declined to say if the Douglas family were in the
house when the blaze started, but it is believed they were at home today.
No one at the house was willing to comment.
<PHOTO> The fire is believed to have started in the garage but firefighters
managed to bring it under control before it spread to the house. The car and
caravan on the driveway were destroyed.
A leader to the last
By Patricia Kane
Dedicated firefighter Tommy
Lightfoot was in charge to the last — despite being on the verge of the heart
attack which killed him.
The Port Glasgow-based fireman was driving a fire engine to the Kilmacolm blaze
just after lam when he began feeling unwell.
A colleague told the Telegraph today: “Tommy pulled over to let another driver
in the crew take over.
“But, in typical Tommy fashion, he was still giving the orders and directions
from the back of the vehicle as it made its way to the scene.”
He went on: “When the crew arrived, he still felt unwell so an ambulance was
called for while firefighters tackled the blaze.
“He was taken to Inverclyde Royal Hospital but was dead on arrival.
Today, tributes poured in for the full-time fireman, who leaves a wife, Elsa,
and three sons.
A brigade spokesman said Tommy, who joined the fire service in 1966, had been
the epitome of a quiet, caring family man.
“He served the community in the same unobtrusive and conscientious fashion and
his colleagues are totally shocked and saddened at his sudden death.
“The thoughts of his colleagues and all members of the brigade will be with his
family at this sad time.”
(Greenock Telegraph Tuesday, 2 July, 1996. Front page.)
Blaze suspicious
Police probe cause of fire at Kilmacolm family home
By Roisin Spinks
Detectives have confirmed they are
treating the suspicious blaze in a Kilmacolm house as willful fire raising.
Detective sergeant Dougie McCracken, who is heading the investigation, said
today they had ruled out any other cause of the fire at 5 Victoria Gardens early
yesterday morning.
The blaze which started around 1am, gutted the garage and destroyed the family’s
car and caravan before spreading to the front porch of the house.
The Dingsdale family were inside the house when the fire started but evacuated
after smelling smoke.
“We would like to speak to anyone who saw people hanging about in the area just
before the fire was discovered,” said Detective Sergeant McCracken.
“Voices were heard in Victoria Gardens around that time, and we would like those
people to come forward.”
Firefighters from Port Glasgow Fire Station are today coming to terms with the
tragic death of colleague Tommy Lightfoot (49) who suffered a heart attack while
driving to the blaze.
He was taken to Inverclyde Royal Infirmary from Victoria Gardens but died in the
ambulance.
A father of three, who is survived by wife Ailsa and three teenage children,
lived in Largs but was originally from Port Glasgow where he was based for most
of his 30 year service.
Port Glasgow sub officer John Ferguson, a friend of Mr Lightfoot for more than
25 years, said he had dedicated his life to the fire brigade.
“We are all in shock at the moment – Tommy had never given any indication that
he was unwell so it was very sudden,” he said.
“He was very popular with all the firefighters, a true gentleman, devoted to his
family and the fire service.
Mr Lightfoot will be buried with full honours if the family request it with
piper, union flag and firefighters acting as pallbearers.
(Greenock Telegraph Wednesday, 3 July, 1996. Page 9.)
Deaths
LIGHTFOOT – Suddenly, on Tuesday, 2nd
July, 1996, Thomas Lightfoot, aged 49 years, beloved husband of Ailsa, much
loved father of Grant Ross and Craig, and loved son in law of Alex and Jessie
McKenzie. The funeral service will be held on Saturday 6th July at 9
a.m. at Greenock Crematorium, to which all friends are respectfully invited.
Family flowers only please. Donations if desired to Strathclyde Fire Service
Widows and Orphans Fund, c/o West Command Headquarters, Barr Street, Ardrossan.
(Greenock Telegraph Friday, 6 July, 1996. Page 2.)
Variorum
Firefighters’ funeral
The funeral of Port Glasgow firefighter Tommy Lightfoot will take place at
Greenock Crematorium tomorrow morning. Mr Lightfoot (49) from Largs collapsed
and fell ill at the scene of a house fire in Kilmacolm early on Tuesday. He was
dead on arrival at Inverclyde Royal Hospital.
(Greenock Telegraph Friday, 6 July, 1996. Page 13.)
Firemen bid Tommy a sad farewell
By Patricia Kane
<PHOTO> Funeral cortege passing
ranks of firefighters
More than 300 mourners turned out today to pay their last respects to
firefighter Tommy Lightfoot in Greenock.
The 49 year old, who has been a firefighter for 30 years, died of a heart attack
on Tuesday morning after becoming ill on the way to a blaze with his crew.
Earlier today, a small family service was held in Largs, where Tommy lived with
his wife, Ailsa, and three sons.
Afterwards, close friends from Tommy’s watch at Port Glasgow Fire Station walked
alongside his Union Jack draped coffin for about 200 yards before the funeral
cortege began to wind its way to Greenock.
At the gates of the crematorium, pall bearers then got into the fire appliance
which Tommy had been driving on the night of his death, and led the procession
up the driveway.
More than 150 firefighters and brigade personnel stood in a guard of honour
outside the chapel to meet the cortege, saluting as their colleague’s coffin as
it passed.
Divisional Officer George Kennedy told the Telegraph : “The turn-out for Tommy
today was exceptional and it’s a measure of the man that so many people came out
to pay their respects.
(Greenock Telegraph Saturday, 7 July, 1996. Front page.)