Nurse charged with Sydney nursing home fire

A nurse who works at the nursing home in Sydney, which yesterday was engulfed by fire, has been charged with four counts of murder. Arson and homicide detectives had initially noticed that the fire had broke out from two different points of the house.

Investigations were interrupted when a roof collapsed.

"Detectives have charged a man with four counts of murder following a fatal fire at an aged care facility in Sydney's north west," New South Wales police said in a statement. The man has been denied bail.

The police said the man was caught after they received information from the public. Firefighters on the scene had described the situation as "a firefighter's worst nightmare. Turning up to a nursing home with elderly people who can't get themselves out of harm's way."

Meanwhile, the Migrants' Commission of the Church in Malta has contacted the Dominican nuns in Blacktown, to see whether any Maltese were involved in the incident. Quakers Hill is extremely popular with the Maltese, with significant numbers living there.

The Commission has been informed that the nuns have already prepared rooms to welcome Maltese residents who were at the nursing home and now have nowhere else to go.