Man fights for life after leaping from house fire

The single-storey house in Lady Nairne Place is boarded up following Saturday's fire

The man - named by a friend as Mohammed Bodanis - was left in a critical condition and has been put into a coma by doctors in the intensive care unit at St John's Hospital in Livingston.

The victim, who is in his 30s, leapt from the kitchen window of his single-floor house in Lady Nairne Place, Willowbrae, after the fire erupted at around 2.40pm on Saturday.

Eyewitnesses described seeing him falling five feet to the cement patio in his back garden as smoke billowed from his home.

Firefighters gave him oxygen and applied dressings to burns on his back until paramedics arrived and rushed him to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for treatment.

A friend said he was later moved to the burns unit at the St John's.

Residents said the street was cordoned off by police in the wake of the incident, but a police spokesman later confirmed the fire was not being treated a suspicious.

The victim is believed to have broken his right leg after jumping from the window, while a fire service spokeswoman said he had also suffered cuts.

A friend, who asked not to be named, arrived at the house, which was formerly a shop, to inspect the damage last night. He said: "I had phoned Mohammed at about 12pm on Saturday and he told me to come round later as he was just getting up. When I arrived at about 3pm, there were police and firefighters everywhere.

"The doctors said the first 24 hours were the most critical. He had a breathing tube inserted and they took it out on Sunday morning. It's been touch and go.

"His face and the whole side of his body is burned. They've induced a coma to try and help him recover but he's still in critical condition.

"After it happened, I had to phone his sister, who lives in Tranent, and tell her what had happened. His mum is in Africa at the moment. The whole family are devastated.

"Mohammed is one of my best friends. He's a nice quiet guy who wouldn't hurt a soul. He never bothers anyone."

His friend added that the victim was currently unemployed and had grown up in Edinburgh.

The back window where the victim jumped from has been boarded up. A burnt-out vacuum cleaner was lying on the back patio, although it is not known whether it was the source of the blaze.

A fire investigation team attended the scene to mount an inquiry following the incident.

A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "I saw him fall from the window. I couldn't tell if he smashed it first or just jumped through. He didn't seem to be shouting or anything, but I couldn't hear that well."He wasn't on fire.

"I only really knew him from seeing him in the street."

Another neighbour, nurse Sarah McKay, 25, said: "I was feeding my baby when I heard the noise and looked out. There were three fire engines and two ambulances. I could see a man being carried to one of the ambulances. Then the police started taping off the street."

A police spokesman confirmed the fire was not being treated as suspicious.

A fire service spokeswoman said: "It appears the man jumped from a window during the fire."