Remembering Firefighter Ewan Williamson

Edinburgh Evening News

A memorial service to honour the life of heroic firefighter Ewan Williamson ago was held at Parliament Square on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.  Ewan tragically lost his life whilst helping others in July, 2009.

Transcript

00:00Fifteen years have passed since the events of the Valhalla fire where tragically we lost

00:08John Powell.

00:09During complex fire and rescue operations, firefighter Huw Williamson lost his life doing

00:17the job he loved, putting himself at risk to help others.

00:22Today we gather in Edinburgh where Huw's funeral was held in 2009.

00:29Huw's legacy is one of bravery, selflessness and unwavering dedication to protecting others.

00:52Huw was a real asset to the watch, he brought a lot of fun.

01:21He was unique, our watch at the time was made up of a lot of individuals but we worked hard

01:28as a team, we enjoyed each other's company both at work and out of work.

01:33It was a real family, I feel that the time on the watch and Huw was just a very good

01:42looking, charismatic firefighter, very good at his job and just tragic that we lost him

01:50in the circumstances that we did.

01:52As you'll have seen from the number of family, friends and colleagues that I've gathered

01:57today, it's extremely important that we remember the ultimate sacrifice that Huw made back

02:02in 2009 going to the aid of others.

02:07Fortunately, firefighters losing their lives in the line of duty is extremely rare, however

02:12they do have a massive impact clearly upon Huw's family and loved ones, on his colleagues

02:19and friends within, as was Lothian Borders Fire and Rescue Service and indeed across

02:24the whole of the Fire and Rescue Service people feel the loss of a valued colleague like Huw

02:30and so it's hugely important that we come together and we collectively remember the

02:37sacrifice that Huw made as we do with all firefighters who tragically lose their lives

02:42in the line of duty.

02:44I can't believe it's 15 years, time really does fly and we'll never forget Huw. Occasions

02:52like this are really for his family first and foremost and they are basically central

02:59to everything that we as a watch did and have done since that day. It doesn't seem like

03:0615 years, it really doesn't. He'll always be with us, we know he's always looking down

03:12It's the first time that we've had an occasion where it's not been raining, I think it's

03:17the big man's joke, it always gets us soaking wet, thinking back to the day's funeral and

03:21then when we did this last year, we got soaked, but we'll never forget him, never forget him.

Category

Transcript

Recommended