11 pensioners feared dead in care home blaze

At least 11 elderly residents are feared dead following a fire at a care home today, fire services said.

Two others are said to be in a critical condition.

Strathclyde Fire Brigade was called to the blaze at the Rosepark home in Uddingston near Glasgow at 4.37am.

More than 40 firefighters extinguished the blaze but a spokesman confirmed that there were “a large number of fatalities”.

A spokeswoman at the Rosepark home said she could not comment on the incident.

Staff at the home care for people on a short stay and long stay basis as well as offering day care, respite care and care of the terminally ill and people with mental conditions.

A spokesman for North Lanarkshire Council, which registers the home, said Rosepark was privately owned.

He said the survivors of the blaze were being relocated to other nursing homes in the area and the council was liaising with the police.

Speaking on behalf of the council’s assistant chief executive Mary Castles, he said: “This is a devastating incident and our sympathies are extended to all involved.

“Due to the frail and elderly nature of the residents, it was considered more appropriate for them to be rehoused in neighbouring care homes than in a temporary rest centre.”

The spokesman said the blaze appeared to have been contained to the care home and had not affected neighbouring properties.

A communications centre was also being established, he said.