On 31 January 2004, a fire at the Rosepark Care Home in Lanarkshire led to the deaths of 14 elderly residents.  This was a relatively modern facility with 24 hour staffing and only two minutes from a fire station.  In 2010 a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) heard from all the key players and reported in 2011.  It sought to identify improvements in fire safety that might prevent such a tragedy in the future.

Recently, Stuart Mortimore of Burgoynes’ Glasgow office, who was involved in the investigation from the start, spoke at a special conference held by BRE Global to consider the incident.  His presentation included the cause of fire, which was an electrical fault in a consumer unit;  how fire and smoke spread along corridors and ventilation ductwork, resulting in so many deaths;  and the operation of the fire detection system, which contained fundamental errors and from which staff identified the wrong location for the fire.  The FAI report can be found at www.scotland-judiciary.org.uk