21 Dec 2012
A blaze in a Scottish care home forced firefighters to evacuate around 50 elderly residents in the early hours of Tuesday.
The fire at the Forth View Care Centre in Sea Road, Methil took hold at 4.30am and fire crews arrived to find a first floor dining room alight. The fire was under control some two hours later and five fire crews and engines were needed to tackle it.
All of the residents and six members of staff working at the care home were moved to a safe part of the building and were looked after by ambulance personnel.
No injuries were reported and the relatives of the residents were contacted and reassured that all their loved ones were safe, according to Sandra Ross, from the Balhousie Care Group, which owns the care centre.
Care homes, like all commercial properties in Scotland, must carry out a ‘suitable and sufficient’ fire risk assessment under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005.
Copyright Press Association 2012