Fireman tells of desperate attempts to save residents

Firemen took almost seven minutes to mount a rescue attempt after they realised pensioners were trapped in a care home fire that would kill 14 people, an inquiry heard.

David Buick described how he was the first fireman on the scene and was told by nursing staff that numerous residents were stuck in their bedrooms behind billowing smoke.

The Fatal Accident Inquiry into the tragedy at Rosepark Care Home in Uddingston, Lanarkshire, on January 31, 2004 then saw CCTV footage that showed firefighters took around seven minutes to drive around to the front of the building, put on their breathing apparatus and discuss procedures before attempting to save the victims.

Later, Mr Buick told of his desperate attempts to save lives as his oxygen reserves ran out. He said he broke fire brigade procedures to speed up the search, as the whistle on his breathing apparatus rang out telling him his oxygen canister was close to empty.

With temperatures rising and visibility non-existent due to thick smoke, Mr Buick and two other firemen separated and failed to carry a water hose as they raced from room to room carrying elderly residents clear of the flames.

Photos were shown of the corridors Mr Buick and his colleagues had rushed down. They showed burnt out wheelchairs and blackened and blistered walls.

The evacuation was carried out in a “zig-zag” approach with firemen carrying and wheeling residents towards paramedics who were waiting beyond the smoke at the home’s entrance.

Mr Buick, who had eight years’ experience in the fire service, told how, after refilling his oxygen tanks, he went back into the building and found seven residents dead in the rooms that lined the top corridor of the care home.

The inquiry earlier heard how Mr Buick had been forced to vault a locked gate to gain access to the home, before running back to find his colleagues had broken it open with an axe and bolt cutters.

Andrew Murphy, on behalf of the home’s then matron, questioned the speed at which the firemen had acted.

“Are you aware of the fact that when you turn up at a fire, time is all important?” he challenged Mr Buick.

He queried why “no one seemed to be running” on the CCTV footage and why the officer in charge had taken the time to double check Mr Buick’s initial report that people might be trapped.

He also asked why “only two out of the five firemen actually do anything”, referring to the fire brigade’s policy of having just two men operating breathing apparatus at any one time.

The inquiry, before Sheriff Principal Brian Lockhart at the Gospel Literature Outreach Centre in Motherwell, also heard that when Mr Buick first arrived at the home, nursing staff apologised for calling the fire brigade, telling him the only reason was some smoke in the lift shaft.

Many of the victims of the fire had impaired mobility, sight problems and, in some cases, severe dementia. Most were in their eighties or nineties.

The inquiry continues.