In a cruel twist of fate, brave Ewan Williamson (35) wasn’t even supposed to be on duty when he became trapped in the inferno, which colleagues compared to “flowing lava”.

Rather than enjoying his annual leave, a shortage of resources saw the West Fife man come in to work for overtime duty on 12th July 2009, when he lost his life trying to fight the searing flames that were ripping through the Balmoral Bar on Dalry Road.

At the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) pled guilty to a charge of breaching health and safety legislation regarding his death and could face a heavy fine at sentencing next month.

Members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) welcomed the guilty plea for their “friend and brother” after spending almost six years supporting Ewan’s family since the tragedy. Denise Christie, of the FBU in Edinburgh, paid tribute to the “brilliant firefighter” and “great friend” and said, “He will never be forgotten and will always be in our thoughts.” Stephen Thomson, Scottish FBU secretary, added, “We hope that this will help Ewan’s family move on with their lives.” The Carnock man was the first firefighter to die tackling a blaze in the history of the former Lothian and Borders brigade after he was trapped in conditions of zero visibility and extreme heat.

He left behind partner Lynsey Baird, as well as his sisters, Rachel and Rebecca. Speaking to the Press back in 2011, Lynsey said that losing Ewan was something she would “never get over” and that he was still the first thing she thought about in the morning and the last thing she thought about at night.

“When he died I really felt like a huge part of me died too, along with all the hopes and plans we had for our life together,” she added.

Sporty Ewan, who played basketball for Scotland at under-18 level, was mourned by hundreds of people who turned out at his funeral. Tributes were paid to the bravery of the man known affectionately by his friends as ‘Scooby’ and his family described his “wonderful spirit” and said his death had left a “huge hole” in their hearts.

In court, the last moments of Ewan’s life were relived. The fire broke out in the pub’s basement because of what was likely a careless disposal of a cigarette or smoking materials in a bin containing papers. After already entering the building once, Ewan went back in to fight the fire and rescue residents from the flats above. After being split up from his trainee colleague, he became trapped in the pub’s ground-floor toilet. Over his radio, he said, “I’ll be there in a minute boss, I’m stuck. I think I’m stuck in the toilet.” When it became clear that Ewan needed help, other firefighters tried to come to his aid. One pushed on the door and the floor beneath him collapsed, opening “like a trap door”. He was only saved by grabbing a colleague’s leg as he fell through the hole and flames surrounded him.

Firefighters later had to force their way into the toilet after cutting their way through a boarded-up window which had been reinforced with a metal grille and security bars. When they found Ewan, he was unresponsive and later declared dead.

The SFRS pled guilty to a single charge after admitting a number of failings relating to the incident. Inadequate training was provided to make sure that close personal contact was maintained during operations and firefighters were not provided with a system of work that was, “so far as reasonably practicable”, safe and without risks to health. Effective systems of radio communication were not in place and procedures for firefighters using breathing apparatus were not implemented. The service also admitted that it did not adequately monitor and ensure attendance at training courses or keep accurate training records in the year leading up to the incident.

Advocate depute Iain McSporran said, “Only those who have encountered and confronted that kind of environment can truly appreciate the courage required to enter into a burning building, not once but twice, and the debt which we the public owe those whose job involves demonstrating that level of courage.

"The loss of Ewan Williamson, who demonstrated exactly the courage and commitment demanded of this job, has been hard for his family and loved ones to bear and hard on those immediate colleagues who were there that night as well as members of fire services across the country and beyond.” Defence counsel Peter Gray QC said, “This was, on any view, an isolated failing by an organisation with an excellent safety record.” Judge Lord Uist will pass sentence on the SFRS on Friday 20th March and his decision may have a bearing on a civil claim for £700,000 in damages which Ewan’s family began back in 2012.