Three-year-old and parents rescued from deliberate fire

A THREE-year-old girl and her parents had to be rescued by firefighters following a fireraising attack at a stairwell near the Meadows.

Fire crews used a turntable ladder to rescue the girl from a fourth-storey window while her parents were led to safety.

The dramatic triple rescue at Argyle Place last night was sparked by a push chair being set alight in the common stair at around 9pm.

Both parents, aged around 35, and the child were taken to hospital suffering smoke inhalation.

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue said a fire had been started deliberately and “thick black smoke” filled the building.

Firefighters then carried out a search of the building to make sure all occupants were safe. Fire investigation teams are examining the scene.

Crews used six breathing kits and six hose reels to tackle the fire which is said to have left the stairwell “heavily smoke logged”.

Firefighters from Tollcross and Liberton left the scene one hour after the blaze started at 10.10pm.

A spokesman said: “The fire was started deliberately in the ground floor stairwell. It was in a child’s push chair sending thick black smoke into the common stair.”

Meanwhile, a partially-constructed house caught fire in a major blaze at Leadburn, Midlothian, last night.

At its height, around 37 firefighters were battling the blaze at Roseview Cottage which sparked at 12.22am.

It is understood there were problems with poor water supply during the operation.

The fire broke out in the roof of a single-storey cottage. This morning, fire crews were still damping down the building.

Crews from Penicuik and West Linton attended the blaze.

Two breathing kits and one high pressure hose reel were used to tackled the flames while three relief appliances were also on scene.