Firefighter attacked during Leith blaze rescue

A FIREFIGHTER has been taken to hospital after he was assaulted while trying to evacuate a man from burning kitchen.

Crews were called to a report of a fire at the high-rise flats in Linksview House, Tolbooth Wynd in Leith, at 3.35pm.

On arrival, they discovered a fire in the kitchen of a flat and smoke coming out of the property. As one of the firefighters went to help evacuate a man from the premises, he was kicked in the face, suffering a cut to his chin.

Police were called and the man was taken into custody.

The firefighter was also the driver of the fire engine, and the incident meant that the appliance was out of action for two hours until a replacement driver could be found.

Local Senior Officer for the City of Edinburgh, John Dickie, said: “No firefighter ever expects to be assaulted in the course of responding to an emergency, it is totally unacceptable. The police were called immediately and the man involved was detained.

“Our firefighter went to hospital for a precautionary check-up. An appliance was taken off the run for two hours until a replacement driver could be found for the fire engine.”