Praise for firefighters after garage blaze

Residents who were evacuated from their homes in South Queensferry after a fire broke out at a garage have praised the emergency services.

A 200-metre exclusion zone was set up following the blaze at Hawes Garage on Newhalls Road on Tuesday after a highly explosive acetylene cylinder was discovered.

Around 20 residents were told to leave nearby homes and placed in emergency accommodation by the city council, while all customers at the Hawes Inn on Newhalls Road were also evacuated and the pub was closed for the night.

A 17-year-old boy suffered minor burns in the fire but there were no other injuries.

Pat Mackay, who lives on Newhalls Road, was one of the residents evacuated.

She said: "I would like to say thank you from all the residents to police and firefighters who looked after us during the emergency. They were superb."

Elsewhere, firefighters were called to a flat in the city last night after a pan of food caught light.

The alert happened at Murdoch Terrace in Fountainbridge at around 6.30pm, but the flames were extinguished before crews arrived.

An elderly woman and a man were checked over at the scene by paramedics.