Firefighters rescue a dozen residents trapped in ‘severe’ tenement blaze

TWELVE people were rescued by fire crews after a “severe” blaze took hold in a first-floor flat on Smithfield Street in Edinburgh.

Ten engines and 38 firefighters tackled the blaze in the Georgie area.

Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said six people were subsequently taken to the city’s Royal Infirmary due to the effects of smoke inhalation.

One of the firefighters was treated at the scene for heat stress.

A fire service spokeswoman said crews went to the scene after they received the first of several calls at around 9.20am.

When they got there, they were “confronted with a severe fire” at the four-storey tenement.

She added: “A fire investigation is currently under way but at this time the cause of the fire is not deemed to be suspicious.”

The incident follows other residential fires in Hamilton and Kirkcaldy earlier today.