Police close off Dunbar’s high street after man is killed in blaze at flat

A 46-YEAR-OLD man has died after a fire took hold in a flat in the Lothians.

Fifteen firefighters tackled the blaze at a property in Dunbar High Street, East Lothian, at around 11am yesterday after smoke was reported billowing from the flat.

Crews discovered the man lying unconscious and not breathing.

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Despite firefighters and ambulance crews performing CPR and using a defibrillator, he died a short time after arriving at hospital.

One eyewitness, who did not want to be named, said: “All of the smoke seemed to be coming from the back of the property.

“We saw a guy being taken out of the flat – emergency services were doing chest compressions on him in the street.

“Nobody seemed to know who lives in that flat, the road has been cordoned off for an investigation for a long time.

“It’s just awful.”

A shopkeeper across the street from the flat, who also did not want to be named, said: “I could see smoke coming out of the top window and ambulances outside.

“I had to go in to the back of the shop because I just couldn’t bear to look.

“Somebody came in to the shop and told me a man had died, a young man. The whole of the High Street was closed at one point.”

Locals said there had been smoke damage to shops on the High Street, with a cafe near the property displaying a notice which said: “Closed due to unforeseen circumstances.”

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A statement from Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue said: “A man has died after a fire in a property in Dunbar.

“Fifteen firefighters on appliances from Dunbar, Haddington and East Linton were mobilised to the High Street after reports of smoke issuing from the building at 11am.

“When firefighters arrived, they discovered a fire in a second-floor flat and a man unconscious and not breathing within the property.

“He was removed from the immediate scene by firefighters who began CPR and used a defibrillator on him before ambulance crews arrived.

“They then took over CPR before taking him to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

“Sadly, he was pronounced dead a short time later.

“Firefighters extinguished the blaze and vented the smoke from the premises.

“An investigation into the cause of the fire will take place.”

They added that the man’s identity would not be released until relatives had been informed.