Demand for review of staff checks after Sydney fire

The leader of Australia's New South Wales state ordered a review of criminal checks on nursing home staff Sunday, as a sixth elderly person died following a suspicious inferno at a Sydney residence. A 79-year-old woman died in hospital early Sunday, police said, the sixth aged resident to die after the Quakers Hill Nursing Home went up in flames early Friday in a pre-dawn fire that allegedly was deliberately lit. Dozens of the home's mostly infirm residents, some of whom suffered from dementia or were blind, were injured and a number remained in a serious condition, with two women clinging to life and several others gravely ill. A 35-year-old male nurse at the home, Roger Dean, was on Saturday charged with multiple counts of murder over the fire. It was described by Prime Minister Julia Gillard as a "very dark day" for Australians and a "truly horrifying" way to die. Ironically, Dean had been hailed a hero after appearing before news media outside the home as firefighters battled to contain the flames, telling reporters he "just quickly did what I could to get everyone out". "The smoke is just overwhelming but, you know, we got a lot of people out, so that's the main thing," he told television news crews. NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell on Sunday ordered a full report into criminal screening processes for nursing home staff and an audit of all the state's care facilities for the elderly, vowing to take lessons from the tragedy. "I've asked for a full report, not only on checks on staff but also the physical structure of nursing homes and retirement villages across the state," said O'Farrell. But he insisted that while "tragic", the fire in western Sydney was an "isolated episode". Police refused to comment on multiple media reports that officers had spoken to Dean about an unrelated matter just hours before the fire erupted, or that he recently left another job at a nearby nursing home following a dispute. "As the matter is before the courts it's inappropriate for the NSW Police Force to comment on speculation or any circumstances surrounding the investigation into the fire or the arrest," a police spokesman said. Forensic and other examinations are continuing and police said "further charges are expected to be laid at a later date". Dean was described by locals as a friendly but quiet man who kept to himself. "I knew Roger quite well," said next-door neighbour Peter Arnold. "It's a surprise that someone so close could do this." He lived just 500 metres (yards) from the now-gutted nursing home with another man, and had only been working there for two months, according to local media reports. Citing police sources, the Sun-Herald newspaper said Dean was believed to have ignited two separate fires using a cigarette lighter, one in an empty room and another that was occupied, just moments apart. One worker on duty when the blaze broke out said it was a deeply traumatic experience and the four staff on duty "just went into action and rescued all the ones we could rescue". "We're just hoping that all the families understood that we did the best we could," she told the Sunday Telegraph. A memorial service will be held for the victims on Wednesday at Quakers Hill Anglican Church. Dean is due to appear in court on Thursday.