AN INVESTIGATION is under way into a fire which broke out at a Brechin care home yesterday.

Senior citizens at Bearehill Care Home had to be moved to safety after a blaze in the lounge area shortly after 2pm.

A fire appliance from the town and two from Montrose were sent to the scene, with back-up from a command support unit sent from Dundee as the incident unfolded.

A spokeswoman for the home said staff followed procedures and evacuated around 30 residents to a safe part of the building while firefighters tackled the outbreak.

Firefighters said the blaze started under external lead guttering at first-floor level of the home, which provides residential and nursing care.

Firefighters donned breathing gear and used thermal imaging cameras to search for hidden hot spots.

They were involved in stripping away roof materials and salvage work as well as monitoring first-floor rooms and the ceiling with the heat-seeking cameras.

Firefighters had the blaze under control within an hour and a half, but the ground floor was said to be heavily smoke logged.

A spokeswoman for Four Seasons Health Care, which runs the home, last night said the cause of the blaze was not known.

“There seems at first glance to be some damage to the roof of the lounge, but nothing major at all,” she said.

“This will be looked at during the day by our own people. It’s more a case of there being a smell of smoke than anything else.”

The spokeswoman praised staff for the way they handled the situation when the alarm was first raised.

Once the fire service completed its checks, residents were allowed back into the rest of the building.

There had been initial fears they might have had to be moved.

The spokeswoman said, “We’re delighted to say that no one has had to be moved out of the home.

“Everyone is staying in the home, although one lady might have to sleep in another room for the night because of the smell of smoke.

“Everybody is absolutely fine, no one was hurt and all relatives were advised very swiftly.”