Pensioner dies in Dundee care home fire

The 78-year-old was seriously injured in the blaze at the Balhousie Clement Park Care Home in Dundee in the early hours of Sunday morning.

He was rushed to the city’s Ninewells Hospital but died on Monday.

Residents were woken in the middle of the night by fire alarms and sprinklers before having to be evacuated from their rooms at the home.

Emergency services rushed to the sheltered complex, which has 49 rooms, after the fire took hold in the man’s room.

Firefighters used breathing apparatus during the rescue of the man from the first floor bedroom before the flames were brought under control.

Police and fire chiefs are now probing the cause of the fire - but say there are no suspicious circumstances.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland Tayside Division said: “Police Scotland can confirm that following serious injuries suffered during a fire at Balhousie Care Home, Clement Park Place, Dundee a 78-year-old man sadly died this morning at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.

“There are no apparent suspicious circumstances and as with all sudden deaths a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.”

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “We were alerted to a fire at Balhousie Clement Park Care Home early on Sunday morning.

“The alarm was raised by the care home staff just after 1.20am.

“Fire appliances from Macalpine Road and Blackness Road Community Fire Stations were immediately dispatched and arrived to find a small fire in a first floor bedroom of the care home.

“Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the bedroom and quickly dealt with the fire and an injured male resident was treated by paramedics at the scene and then taken to hospital by ambulance.

“At the same time, firefighters assisted home staff with the evacuation of residents from ground floor bedrooms that had been affected by water from the activation of fire sprinklers on the first floor and also carried out salvage work in the affected bedrooms.

“There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding this incident and the SFRS Fire Investigation Unit and officers from Police Scotland are working together to establish the circumstances surrounding the fire.”

A spokeswoman for Balhousie Care Group, which owns the home, said: “The fire was contained to one bedroom on the first floor and sadly one of our residents was injured as a result.

“The fire alarms in the home went off at around 1.15am and the emergency services were called immediately. The priority was, of course, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of residents and staff.

“A small number of residents were moved from their rooms to a place of safety inside the building, before being allowed to return to their bedrooms.

“Relatives are being contacted directly to update them on the situation.

“The staff who were on duty dealt with the incident quickly and we commend them for their handling of the situation.”