Flat fire that killed OAP 'was started by cigarette'

A FIERCE blaze which killed an elderly woman is thought to have been started by a cigarette, it emerged today.

Berit Mountain, 79, died after suffering "horrific" burns in the fire at her tenement flat, in Argyle Park Terrace.

The fire, which neighbour Richard Scott-Robinson described as a "roaring inferno", also trapped two neighbouring residents who had to be rescued using a ladder.

The fire is believed to have broken out in the pensioner's bedroom, and Mrs Mountain was found lying unconscious behind her front door by firefighters at 5.45pm on Monday. She was rushed to the ERI, then transferred to St John's Hospital Burns Unit, but died of her injuries yesterday.

Mr Scott-Robinson told how he had tried to rescue Mrs Mountain by banging on her door. He tearfully described how he could hear the elderly woman shuffling towards the front door before it went quiet.

"I had already been banging on the door for quite a long time before I heard the footsteps. She was shuffling along the corridor. It seems she just didn't have any strength left. She didn't make a noise. You would expect someone to be screaming or crying for help but that didn't happen. I had no idea of the extent of the fire until I got outside. It was like a roaring inferno, with 6ft high flames coming out the window. I was astounded."

Mr Scott-Robinson added: "She liked a cigarette and I am pretty sure she smoked in her bedroom because the smoke would come through (the vent] to my bedroom. I am pretty sure she did not have a smoke alarm, I didn't hear anything.

"She was a lovely lady, very fit and active. After she retired Berit and her husband Bill worked for many years at homeless charity The Ark. She was a good neighbour who would help anybody out."

It is thought that Mrs Mountain was of Swedish descent and had two children.

Flatmates Stacy Schwartz, 26, and David Ross, 34, described how they were rescued by firefighters along with their cat.

Mr Ross said he had just switched off his computer when he smelled smoke. He said: "We looked in the stairwell and it was very hazy. We have a cat so we went to try and grab it, but when we went back out into the hall it was too smoky. We came back in and made some wet cloths to cover our mouths. The bathroom was just filled with smoke that was coming through the vents. I could hear sirens so I knew the fire crews were on the scene."

David Lockhart, community safety manager for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue, said: "At this moment in time fire investigation is still under way. We would like to emphasis we have seen five fire deaths across Strathclyde and Lothian and Borders recently and it brings it home that a fire in your home is a very real risk."

A spokeswoman confirmed that investigators were looking at the possibility the fire was started by a discarded cigarette.

Meanwhile, a fire broke out in a block of flats in West Main Street, Whitburn, West Lothian, yesterday morning. One man was treated on scene but refused to go to hospital.