Six people died and two others were injured when an unauthorised nursing home in the eastern part of Sao Paulo caught fire, said police and municipal authorities.
The fire started in a dining room and spread to the other rooms, killing five elderly people and a caregiver, said Aaron Barbosa, spokesman for the Sao Paulo Fire Department, on Saturday.
Named "Lar da Vovo", the nursing home lacked a sanitary operation permit and was also operating without authorisation from the Fire department, Xinhua news agency reported.
Neighbours said that they were unaware that a nursing home was operating there. The fire lasted nearly four hours, according to witnesses.