Girls save pensioner from fire

THREE young girls saved a pensioner from a burning building after hearing the faint sound of a fire alarm on their way home from school.

The 12-year-olds heard the alarm and approached the elderly man's house just after 4pm yesterday, and heard the kitchen windows being blown out as the fire took hold.

They alerted emergency services and firefighters rushed to the house in Arrol Place, in South Queensferry, to discover the girls – all pupils at the local high school – had convinced the man, thought to be in his 70s, to leave his home.

A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said: "We don't know why he didn't respond to the fire alarm, or leave the property of his own accord, but you would be surprised how many people choose to stay inside a house when it's on fire.

"Undeterred by the flames, the girls approached the door and knocked on it. I think they did incredibly well. Many young people of that age tend to be more insular."

It is understood the pensioner was only alerted to the fire by the girls knocking. There was nobody else in the house at the time.

Lothian and Borders Police also attended. A spokesman said the fire is thought to have been caused by food left in the man's cooker.

He said: "The kitchen was extensively damaged, but there do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances."

Although paramedics attended the fire, the man did not require treatment. He is now staying with a friend.

Meanwhile another man was taken to St John's Hospital last night following a kitchen fire in Armadale.

Firefighters from Whitburn Fire Station were called to the building on East Main Street just before 8pm.