Probe After Former Care Home Is Devastated By Fire

An investigation is under way after a fire devastated an empty B-listed mansion in Bearsden. Around 50 firefighters spent hours fighting the blaze in Roman Road from 9.30pm on Monday night.

The fire was well developed when Strathclyde Fire and Rescue arrived on the scene in the upmarket neighbourhood where the average house price is more than £325,000.

Flames leapt feet into the air above the property and fire crews had to be called in from surrounding areas including Milngavie as far afield as Dreghorn in Ayrshire. The firefighters struggled to ensure the blaze did not spread to neighbouring homes from the property, which is opposite the ruins of an ancient Roman baths.

No-one was injured in the blaze but the battle to contain it lasted well into the night. The devastated building, known as Craigholme since the 1950s, was run as a care home by the charity Deaf Connections until it was sold to Allan Water Ltd last year.

The company ran the building as Bearsden Care Home until December, when it caused an outcry by giving vulnerable residents just six weeks’ notice over the Christmas period to move out.

The firm said it had been losing £20,000 a month after failing to attract referrals from councils and the home had just 19 residents before closure. It is believed the firm later sold the property to a developer.

However, Louise McMahon, 32, and her husband Stuart, 37, watched the blaze from their home opposite. Mum Louise had been up feeding her five-month-old daughter.

She said: “We heard noises at about 9.30pm and we thought they were going to dig up the road but I was up later on at 3.30am and the flames were still going absolutely mental.”

Stuart added: “It was quite exciting between the fire and our daughter waking up and Alexander, three, thought it was a dragon coming to get him in the middle of the night.”

Bill Connolly, group manager of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, said large sections of the roof had collapsed. He said: “It’s severely damaged as it was quite a large fire. Since then we have just been dampening it down and a full investigation will now take place.”