Rosepark owner admits to conflicting alarm advice at care home

Staff at a residential care home where a blaze killed 14 elderly people could have been confused about what to do when a fire alarm was raised, the owner said yesterday.

Thomas Balmer, who owned the Rosepark nursing home in Lanarkshire, said staff could have received conflicting advice.

A fatal accident inquiry at Motherwell into the fire at the home in January 2004 heard staff had been told to investigate the source of an alarm before calling the fire brigade – despite safety notices displayed throughout the home telling them to call 999 first.

The same advice was given to staff by fire officers who visited the home to carry out safety training.

A blaze broke out in a cupboard overnight at the home at Uddingston on January 31, 2004, and ripped through the building, killing 14 residents.

Yesterday, Mr Balmer was asked by advocate depute James Wolffe whether it was “confusing to have a notice on the wall that gives instructions that staff were not intending to comply with”.

Mr Balmer replied: “Undoubtedly. That is why it is essential to have a sound working policy for our staff – a working practice that, I believe, has been standard procedure within care settings for a number of years.”

He said staff were instructed to assemble at a fire panel giving the location of the fire and for two of them to go to the source of the alarm and investigate before the decision to contact the fire brigade was made.

Mr Balmer was presented with evidence given to the inquiry earlier this year by fire officer Thomas McNeilly, who had offered fire training and advice to staff. He said staff were “very, very unsure” about what to do when the alarm was raised.

The fire officer said his talk had emphasised the need to to immediately contact the fire brigade, adding that there were “no grey areas” in his advice.

But yesterday, Mr Balmer said Mr McNeilly had been “reassuring” about the home’s policy and had not raised concerns with him.

Mr Balmer was prosecuted alongside his wife, Anne, and son, Alan, over alleged safety breaches but the case collapsed in 2007 when a judge dismissed the charges.

A fresh indictment was served in 2008 but those charges were also dropped.

The inquiry also examined records of electrical work carried out at Rosepark. Questioning focused on work done by electrician Alex Ross.

It emerged that Mr Balmer had signed documents on behalf of the electrician on at least one occasion. The inquiry also heard that regular testing of a fuse box had not been carried out.

The inquiry continues on Tuesday.