Charges against three people arising from the fire at the Rosepark nursing home in Uddingston, near Glasgow in 2004, in which 14 people died, have been dismissed because of the way they were indicted.
Lord Hardie dismissed the charges against Thomas Balmer, Anne Balmer and Alan Balmer at Glasgow High Court last month but as FSE went to press, the prosecution had appealed against the ruling.
A small fire broke out in a linen cupboard at the care home on 31 January 2004, generating a great deal of smoke. 10 people died at the time of the fire, and four others died of their injuries over the next few days. The three individual defendants were charged on12 counts in their capacity as partners of the firm Rosepark Nursing Home. But the judge decided that as the partnership had since been dissolved, they could not be charged as employers of the home. But the judge indicated that proceedings could still be taken against the three.
“I wish to emphasise for the benefit of the relatives of those residents who perished in the fire, and the injured residents and their relatives, that this decision does not signal an end of proceedings against the accused,” said Lord Hardie. “It is a matter for the Lord Advocate, acting in the public interest, to determine whether further action should be taken against any or all of the first three accused and, if so, on what charges”.
Since the fire in January 2004, new draft Scottish building regulations guidance provides that all care homes are fitted with automatic life safety fire suppression systems. The guidance says these should form part of a ‘holistic’ fire safety approach, which takes into account the design, occupancy and management of such premises.
New guidance is also available to managers and operators of Scottish care homes under the Fire (Scotland) Act Part 3, which generally contains similar provisions to those of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order for England and Wales.
