SCOTLAND'S leading fire officer described the Rosepark Care Home fire, in which 14 pensioners lost their lives, as one of the "most difficult" call-outs in his force's history as further reforms were announced to prevent a repeat of the tragedy.

Brian Sweeney, chief officer with Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, said yesterday he hoped the lessons learned from the fire, in Uddingston, Lanarkshire, in 2003, would “never have to be learned again”.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue has published its response to the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the multiple deaths, announcing four further improvements to the fire safety procedures at care homes.

These include ensuring staff are trained and drilled for an emergency and that workers and nurses have sufficient knowledge of fire alarm systems.

The brigade report revealed fire safety officers will also have to check staff are well informed on what information to provide to emergency service operators.

The FAI into the tragedy heard staff at Rosepark at the time of the fire were unaware of how to use the fire alarm and did not understand evacuation procedures. The failings led to a delay in the arrival of the fire brigade and the rescue of residents.

Seven amendments have already been made.

Mr Sweeney said: “When I attended the incident at Rosepark Care Home I immediately understood the magnitude of what had occurred – a disaster in which 14 lives were tragically lost.

“At that time I expressed my sincere condolences to all those who were affected by this terrible incident and today I offer these very same sentiments.

“It is my genuine hope that in sharing this experience and learning from the incident, we can ensure that this tragedy will never be repeated.”

Mr Sweeney added: “I remain in no doubt that this was one of the most difficult incidents in our service’s history, one which has called on the professionalism of a number of colleagues who either attended the care home or later provided evidence at the FAI.

“I trust this report will go some way to providing the means by which we can all learn from the Rosepark tragedy.”

The FAI also recorded that the victims of the fire were let down by faulty electrical installations that were never properly inspected or maintained.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said it had already put in place changes to address some of the recommendations from Sheriff Principal Brian Lockhart, who led the FAI, including the inspection and testing of equipment, the monitoring of staff ratios, the use of fire dampers and the storage of combustible material.

Sheriff Lockhart also recommended that an automatic signal should be sent to the fire service when a fire alarm was activated.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said this was not current policy but that it would pursue this recommendation with the Chief Fire Officers Association.

The fire service said it would also try to pursue the implementation of electrical maintenance testing using Institution of Engineering and Technology guidelines.

It also agreed to assist in any future consultation on the monitoring of fire risk assessors and their competence.