Steve Rae stood on the edge of the burning platform, contemplating the black and unwelcoming waters below. Jumping was his only option but that did not make it any easier.

The sound of a pipe exploding near by jolted him out of his stupor. With the Piper Alpha platform engulfed in flames behind him in what was to become Scotland's worst industrial disaster, the 26-year-old electrician took the leap of faith that saved his life.

Mr Rae, now 46, is one of the 61 men who survived the Piper Alpha disaster on July 6, 1988, which claimed the lives of 167 of his colleagues.

The drilling operations manager in Aberdeen, who has become an outspoken campaigner for safety in the North Sea, is sanguine about his escape. “You don't think about it at the time - you just do what your gut instinct tells you to do, and that's the way it was,” he said on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the disaster.

Piper Alpha had been the most productive platform in the North Sea, accounting for 10 per cent of Britain's oil output, until a gas leak ignited. Within minutes, the heat of the fire ruptured pipelines that were carrying oil and gas from neighbouring fields. These were not shut down for almost an hour, causing fireball explosions.

Some men tried to escape by heading for the platform's lifeboats, but heavy smoke and intense flames prevented them. Others took refuge in the accommodation block because they thought that it was a safe distance from the blaze, only to be killed by the thick, choking smoke.

Ann Gillanders's husband, Ian, was one those who thought that they would be safe. The 50-year-old pipe fitter had been taking a shower at the time of the first explosion. He had returned to his cabin, and was tidying his socks into a drawer when his room-mate, Bob Ballantyne, found him. After convincing him to flee, the two men ran to a lower level. Once there, however, they went in opposite directions. While Mr Ballantyne climbed down a rope to a lower deck, Mr Gillanders went to the other end of the platform, where he was caught in an explosion.

“It sounds ridiculous to put things away in a drawer, but that was Ian as I remember him, having to make sure things were tidy before he left,” Mrs Gillanders, 63, from Nairn, said.

Mr Gillanders is one of the 30 men whose bodies have never been found. Without remains to bury, Mrs Gillanders channelled her grief instead into campaigning for improved safety in the oil industry and founded the Piper Alpha Families and Survivors Association. One of its most significant achievements was raising funds for a bronze memorial in Hazelhead Park in Aberdeen. Tomorrow the bronze figure of three men above a plinth bearing the names of the dead will be at the centre of a remembrance service for those killed.

After congregating at the Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting, mourners will proceed to another service at the statue.

The Rev Andrew Jolly, of the UK Oil and Gas Chaplaincy, who is leading the commemorations, believes that the day should be an opportunity to think about those in dangerous jobs. “It's only sometimes when an accident happens that people maybe step back and consider just what is involved in having energy that we need to light our homes, cook our meals, fuel our vehicles, and so perhaps it is appropriate to pause for a moment's reflection.”

Others hope the anniversary will act as a warning to the industry that it must never let such a tragedy occur again. A public inquiry recommended 106 changes to safety procedures, but Graham Tran, a union official, is still haunted by the prospect of another accident on the scale of Piper Alpha.

According to Mr Tran, a regional officer with the Amicus arm of Unite, another such disaster is inevitable if safety standards are not improved.

“Piper Alpha certainly made everybody focus in terms of bringing safety to reps and so forth, but I think over the last few years there's complacency again,” he said. “Safety is an area offshore where the workers, unfortunately, in many cases are still reluctant to speak up because of the bully boy tactics in the industry.

“Unless there's serious investment and an immediate programme addressing the backlog of maintenance, yes, there's another Piper Alpha on the way, there's no doubt in my mind.When I get a phone call I fear the worst. I fear that they may tell me there's been another Piper Alpha. It's as serious as that now.”

Mrs Gillanders hopes that the anniversary will be more simple: a day to remember those who died and a chance to offer support those who are still suffering. “Even now, after so many years, there will be people out there who might want to talk, and I'd be happy to meet them,” she said.

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