30/04/2010 - Blaze home owner gives evidence
The owner of Rosepark care home has said he was "disappointed in himself" over fire safety breaches in the care home that killed 14 elderly residents and injured four others in January 2004.
Thomas Balmer told the Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) that the Star Electric company electricians, whom he had hired to install fire safety measures, including fire dampeners in the home's ventilation shafts, had let him down.
Previously, the FAI had heard that a probe after the tragedy found the dampeners at the home in Uddingston, Lanarkshire, were missing.
Mr Balmer further said that he thought he had the "aptitude" and "ability" to oversee the construction work but now as he looks back he thinks he did not have the skill to check electrical work.
Mr Balmer said: "I accept the ultimate responsibility should probably come to me. But, with hindsight, it is an exact science. I should have been more observant and less trusting of the contractors who came highly recommended."
A lawsuit charging Mr Balmer along with Anne and Alan Balmer over alleged safety breaches collapsed in 2007 and charges under a fresh indictment in 2008 were also dropped.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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