Blast victim 'crawled' from blaze

The inquiry heard how Mr McBurnie tried to crawl clear of the fire

A fatal accident inquiry has heard how a man tried to crawl clear of a garage explosion while he was "still on fire".

James McBurnie, 53, of Kirkland Road, Dumfries, died as a result of the blast on the town's Catherinefield Industrial Estate in September last year.

Two men told the inquiry how they pulled him clear of the flames after a car he was working on caught fire.

A consultant anaesthetist also told Dumfries Sheriff Court it would have been impossible to survive the burns.

Douglas Hamilton, 42, who lives near the industrial estate, told the inquiry he was drawn to the scene by the smoke billowing from the garage.

It was difficult to pick him up because of his burns but we had to get him away to safety from the fire Sgt Colin Dorrans

"I suddenly became aware of a head sticking up near the blaze - it was Mr McBurnie," he said.

"He was still on fire and there were only strands of clothing left on him."

He said, along with off-duty police sergeant Colin Dorrans, he lifted Mr McBurnie away from the burning building.

"He had a leather belt on which was still on fire and I cut it off and cut off a boot as well - the only one he still had on," added Mr Hamilton.

The inquiry heard Mr McBurnie, a self-employed engineer, had been working on a car to replace the petrol tank when the fire started.

Mr Dorrans, 38, who was first at the scene, saw the victim trying to crawl out of the garage.

"It was difficult to pick him up because of his burns, but we had to get him away to safety from the fire," he explained.

"He told me he was working on a car and the petrol went up."

Further explosions

He added that Mr McBurnie warned him there were acetylene cylinders inside the garage.

Sgt Dorrans added: "They can be volatile and be like missiles and the area had to be cleared."

A 200m exclusion zone was set up round the area when the fire broke out, due to the risk of further explosions.

Fire station manager David Jardine told the inquiry it was difficult to be sure of the cause of the blaze.

He said it could have been a spark caused when Mr McBurnie was trying to free the petrol tank, or a hand held light may have fallen and smashed.

After the incident, Mr McBurnie was transferred to St John's Hospital in Livingston but died three days later from his injuries.