Residents flee flats as faulty electric blanket sparks blaze

A MAN fell more than 20 feet from a top floor window to escape a fire which ripped through a block of flats in Morningside last night.

The blaze broke out in the bedroom of an elderly couple's ground floor flat on Craighouse Park at around 7.30pm, and smoke spread through the staircase of the three-storey block, making it difficult for residents in the six flats to escape.

A man, thought to be in his 20s, attempted to escape from a bedroom window in the top flat and was left dangling from the window ledge before dropping to the grass below.

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Allan Davidson, 28, a resident in the neighbouring block of flats, made a frantic dash for his ladder when he saw the man hanging from the window.

Mr Davidson said: "There was a man dangling from the top window but by the time I got the ladder he had dropped. I think he just panicked and didn't know what was happening and let himself go. He was conscious after he fell and was taken to hospital.

"I saw a couple with a young toddler at the back window of the flat below him and the woman was pregnant. I put the ladder up for them but they didn't have to use it as the firefighters arrived seconds later and used it to get up and down to talk to them."

Alison Arnold, 35, who lives in the neighbouring block, had been at a pilates class when the fire broke out and was shocked by the scene on her return.

She said: "At first I thought it was my flat that was on fire. I left the house just before 7pm and everything was fine, I got back at half eight and there was chaos in the street."

The elderly couple, thought to be in their 80s, were taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said early indications showed that the fire was caused by a faulty electric blanket.

It appears the couple were unaware of the fire for some time, as they did not have a working smoke alarm, and it was only when they saw thick smoke in the hallway that they called the fire brigade.

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A spokeswoman also confirmed that they had discovered a man on the grass behind the flats who appeared to have fallen from the top floor of the building while trying to escape.

He was given first aid by firefighters and taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. She added that is was believed the man had become panicked by the fire, and that he was not in any immediate danger.

The spokeswoman also confirmed that firefighters had given oxygen to a family of four living above the fire, as it was felt unsafe to remove them from the building them down a ladder, due to the young age of the children. They also provided oxygen to another woman in her flat.

Group manager for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service, Mike Partington, said: "This was a very severe fire that has completely gutted the bedroom.

"One of the concerns here is that it appears there wasn't a working smoke alarm in the flat, which could have provided this couple with an early warning of the fire."

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