Come Dine With Me TV producer who was killed with his partner by deadly hotel fire had cuts and blood on his hands after they tried to smash their way out of a window, inquiry hears

• Richard Dyson, 38, and Simon Midgley, 32, from London, died following the fire
• Mr Dyson was found by firefighters in poor visibility as they searched corridors
• Unconscious, he had blood on his hands from trying to smash his way out 
• Previously fire service was told to evacuate the hotel over fears of collapse
• Blaze broke out after ‘night porter put ash and embers in cupboard with kindling’

A TV producer killed with his partner in a deadly hotel fire had cuts and blood on his hands from trying to smash his way out of a window, an inquiry has heard.

Richard Dyson, 38, who had worked on Channel 4’s Four in Bed and Come Dine With Me, and Simon Midgley, 32, a PR manager, both from London, died following the fire at the five-star Cameron House hotel while on a romantic break. 

Firefighter Phillip Douglas told the Fatal Accident Inquiry that him and his colleagues were told to flee the hotel, situated on the banks of Loch Lomond, near Balloch, over fears it might collapse. 

When the 35-year-old and his team were allowed back in, he could see very little in the corridors and was using his feet and hands to check the area. 

At one point, he kicked what he thought was debris and was actually the leg of Mr Dyson who was lying on the floor unconscious. 

A court had previously heard that the blaze broke out after a night porter Christopher O’Malley put ash and embers from a fire into the cupboard with kindling and newspapers and the couple died of smoke inhalation. 

The inquiry was previously shown footage of the terrifying moment when O’Malley opened the concierge cupboard in the morning of 18 December 2017 to discover flames and smoke spewing out of the small room just off the reception area. 

Firefighters at the scene following a fire at the Cameron House Hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond in Scotland

PR manager Simon Midgley, 32, and his partner TV producer Richard Dyson, 38, from London, died following the blaze at the five-star Cameron House Hotel near Balloch on the banks of Loch Lomond, in December 2017

‘I kicked what I thought was a bit of debris from the hotel,’ Mr Douglas told the inquiry being held at Paisley Sheriff Court. ‘But I realised at the time it was actually the leg of a person. It became apparent it was a casualty.

‘There was no visibility at the time. I tried to put my torch on but I couldn’t see anything.’

Mr Dyson was unconscious and had blood on his hands from trying to smash his way out of the inferno.

Mr Douglas told the inquiry upon his return, after he was told to leave the building, conditions at the stairwell where Mr Dyson and Mr Midgley’s bodies were located had significantly worsened.

‘I couldn’t see my hands in front of my face at that point,’ said Mr Douglas as he recalled the scene prior to finding Mr Dyson’s body.

The family of Mr Dyson and Mr Midgley became distressed as the inquiry heard the details and were shown photographs of the window and the belongings left by the men trying to escape.

The inquiry had previously heard that the couple had tried to smash a window with a picture frame to escape the blaze.

More than 200 guests were evacuated from the building during the fire, including a family of two adults and a child who were rescued by ladder and taken to hospital

Firefighters at the scene following a fire at the Cameron House Hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond in Scotland

The inquiry was shown footage of O’Malley, earlier in the night before the fire broke out, filling a black plastic bag with ashes and putting it into the cupboard, which also stored kindling for the nearby fire

They had only been able to smash through one pane of the laminated, double-glazed window.

Paul Stewart, 50, was the deputy assistant chief officer on duty on December 18 2017 – the morning of the fire at 128-room hotel.

He arrived at the scene just before 8am and had been briefed by colleagues when he heard Mr Dyson and Mr Midgley were unaccounted for.

He told the inquiry the ‘primary objective’ was to locate the two men.

And he said he he had ‘faith’ and ‘trust’ in the fire officer tasked with assisting with a roll call.

He said: ‘During the incident, I appointed a roll call officer on arrival in order to gain as much information we could about people who were missing.

‘My faith and trust in the commander doing that was fairly sound.’

Hotel operator Cameron House Resort (Loch Lomond) Ltd was previously fined £500,000, and night porter Christopher O’Malley was given a community payback order over the fire.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court heard in January last year that the fire started after O’Malley emptied ash and embers from a fuel fire into a polythene bag, and then put it in a cupboard of kindling and newspapers.

Mr Robinson put down his fire marshal pack and list of guests and picked up a fire extinguisher, as smoke soon began to fill the room

The hotel firm admitted failing to take the necessary fire safety measures to ensure the safety of its guests and employees between January 14 2016 and December 18 2017.

The company admitted two charges of breaching the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005.

O’Malley admitted breaching sections of health and safety laws which relate to the obligation on an employee to take reasonable care for the health and safety of people affected by their acts or omissions at work.

The inquiry also previously heard from Darren Robinson, the hotel’s night manager at the time, was giving evidence to the court and was shown footage of O’Malley, earlier in the night before the fire broke out, filling a black plastic bag with ashes and putting it into the cupboard, which also stored kindling for the nearby fire.

In one part of the footage, O’Malley put the ashes in as he was talking to another hotel employee.

Mr Robinson said, ‘It’s not something I would have done,’ adding that it was a ‘fire risk’.

‘There could be hot embers in the ash,’ he continued, telling the inquiry that at the time there were ‘flammable materials’ in the cupboard.

Cameron House was previously fined £500,000 following the deaths of Midgley, 32, and his partner Dyson, 38, from London

He did not know they had been put there until he saw video footage, the inquiry was told.

After Mr Robinson was alerted to the pre-alarm at about 6.30am on December 18, he and O’Malley went to try to find the cause.

Moments later, the FAI was shown, O’Malley opened the door to the cupboard he had previously placed the ashes in. This was where he and a member of the public found the source of the fire.

Mr Robinson put down his fire marshal pack and list of guests and picked up a fire extinguisher, as smoke soon began to fill the room.

But at this point, Mr Robinson told the court, he felt there ‘was no point’.

‘It was too big and it was more important to get people out,’ he told Graeme Jessop, acting for the Crown.

Mr Midgley’s mother Jane (pictured) today told an inquest in Wakefield that her son had phoned her from the hotel the night before the blaze 

The member of the public can then be seen trying to fight the fire with an extinguisher but to no avail.

‘I was trying to phone the emergency services at that point,’ Mr Robinson said.

Mr Jessop asked him if there was a problem contacting emergency services.

‘There was no problem. It started ringing, I think, and within the next few seconds things escalated quite quickly – lights went off, (the) place starts to fill up with smoke – and I didn’t think it was safe to be in there anymore,’ he said.

Seconds later, at 6.41am, he dialled 999 from his mobile phone, a call that was played to the inquiry yesterday.

Mark Stewart QC, acting for O’Malley, told the court his client was a ‘conscientious’ and ‘diligent employee’.

‘When that alarm went off you asked Mr O’Malley to go and investigate. That’s what we saw happening on the video as he rushed out in the reception area slightly ahead of you,’ he said.

When smoke was detected, staff had three minutes to work out the cause. The inquiry was told O’Malley’s actions were ‘instrumental’ in making the decision for Mr Robinson to trigger the full alarm.

Defending, Mr Stewart said there had been nothing to test the temperature of the ash to make sure it was cool enough, and the metal bucket used was bought from B&Q just before the blaze.

And, the inquiry heard, O’Malley had told Mr Robinson that the ash bins were full and that the night manager had then emailed other staff at the hotel requesting that the bins be emptied.

Gary Love, a fire investigator, told the inquiry his investigation found the blaze had started in the concierge cupboard of the Grade B listed building. Inside they found evidence of a galvanised bucket, kindling and a shovel.

He told the inquiry more than 75 per cent of the main building of the 128-room hotel had been ‘severely damaged’ in the incident, while the blaze had caused the majority of the roof to collapse.

Jane Midgley (second left), mother of victim Simon Midgley, outside Paisley Sheriff Court where the fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the deaths of two men

The now retired investigator for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said his conclusion was the fire was accidental and most probably the cause of a careless act.

‘Ashes have a low thermal conductivity, consequently, it’s not rare for individuals to believe ashes are dead while in reality hot or smouldering embers are still contained within,’ he told the inquiry.

Mr Love told Sheriff Thomas McCartney that studies have shown embers causing a fire hours after, with embers having the potential to smoulder for days.

An inquest held in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, close to the Yorkshire town of Leeds and Wetherby where the men grew up, heard from Mr Midgley’s mother Jane in April 2021.

Jane Midgley previously said her son had phoned her from the hotel on December 17, 2017, saying the couple were ‘having a fabulous time’ at the Scottish retreat

She said her son had phoned her from the hotel on December 17, 2017, saying the couple were ‘having a fabulous time’ at the Scottish retreat.

Mrs Midgley, from Pudsey, Leeds, told the inquest: ‘(He told me) I’m drowning in dreams, mother dear. And I promise you life is going to be good from now on

‘(He said) I’m so looking forward to spending Christmas with you. Don’t forget my pigs-in-blankets.’

‘Everything was normal, he was so excited.’

The court heard just hours after the call, at around 6:39am on December 18, 2017, an alarm sounded after staff noticed smoke coming from a cupboard.

As fire tore through the hotel, an evacuation of more than 200 guests was carried out before it was established at 8am that Mr Midgley and Mr Dyson were missing.

Firefighters recovered them from the second floor, but the couple were found to have died as a result of smoke and fire gas inhalation.

The inquiry continues.

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