A FATAL accident inquiry into a fire at a nursing home in which 14 residents died will be held in November.

The probe will be held in the Gospel Outreach Literature Centre in Motherwell, Lanarkshire, following two preliminary hearings at Hamilton Sheriff Court.

The centre was also the venue for the inquiry into the world's worst e-coli outbreak that claimed the lives of 21 people in Lanarkshire in November 1996.

The Rosepark probe is expected to last at least three months.

The elderly residents who died in the fire in Uddingston, Lanarkshire were Dorothy McWee, 98, Tom Cook, 95, Isobel MacLachlan, 93, Julia McRoberts, 90, Annie Thompson and Helen Crawford, both 84, Margaret Lappin, 83, May Mullen, Helen Milne, Anna Stirrat, and Mary McKenner, all 82, Robina Burns, 89, Isabella MacLeod, 75, and Margaret Gow, 84.

Scotland's top law official, the Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini QC, confirmed the probe was to be begin on November 16.

She also announced Sheriff Principal Brian A. Lockhart will preside over the Inquiry and Crown prosecutors will be led by Senior Counsel, James Wolffe, QC.

A Crown Office spokesman added: "The Inquiry will seek to ensure that those who lost loved ones in the fire in Uddingston in January 2004 can learn the full circumstances of this tragic incident and to identify any steps that might prevent a similar occurrence in the future.

"In addition, the Inquiry will seek to establish whether there were any reasonable precautions which could have been taken to avoid the deaths and whether any defects in systems of working contributed to them."

Joseph Milne, who lost his 82-year-old mother Helen to the blaze, welcomed the inquiry.

Mr Milne, 61, of Bothwell, Lanarkshire, said: "I'm looking forward to hearing some explanation for what happened in an open court.

"It is the only way the victims' side of this will be heard and any efforts at doing this so far have failed miserably.

"I want to see the Balmers in court and hear what they have to say."

Preliminary hearings will be held at Hamilton Sheriff Court on 20 August and on 8 October 2009, to put in place arrangements for the probe.

Michael McMahon, Labour MSP for Hamilton North and Bellshill, said: "All the families have ever wanted is answers and hopefully they will now get them.

"The manner in which the Crown Office and prosecution service have handled the attempts at taking the case to court has left so many unanswered questions and continued the families agony.

"It is better late then never and now hopefully we will be told the full story and any lessons from this tragedy will be learned."