Woman fights for life after blaze

A WOMAN was battling for her life last night after fire tore through a third-floor flat. She was taken to hospital, suffering from severe smoke inhalation.

The 33-year-old was found unconscious in her Edinburgh flat by firefighters at about 6:30pm on Monday evening.

Last night, a family friend said "things weren't looking too good" for the woman.

Fire crews attempted to resuscitate the victim outside her flat in Longstone Street, as shocked neighbours looked on.

Paramedics managed to get her breathing again, before she was rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary suffering from burns and severe smoke inhalation.

An anxious family friend, who lives near the scene of the ferocious blaze, said: "I know she wasn't in a great condition on Monday when they look her to hospital. Things weren't looking too good."

Crews battled the flames for three hours as plumes of thick black smoke billowed out of the windows.

A neighbour who lives in the block next door said she watched as the woman was pulled out of the building.

She said: "I saw a stretcher coming out, but I didn't see anything else. There were firemen and paramedics crowding around the stretcher and then she was taken away. I didn't see any flames, but there was a lot of thick black smoke coming out the windows."

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue said they were trying to determine the cause of the blaze.

He said: "One female who was unconscious and not breathing was rescued by the service.

"Fire crews administered oxygen and we requested an ambulance. The fire was extinguished and the 33-year-old woman was taken to hospital suffering from burns and smoke inhalation."