Woman is rescued from bedroom fire

A WOMAN had to be rescued from her flat after trying to put out a fire in her bedroom.

The incident has prompted fire chiefs to issue a warning to people not to try and tackle fires on their own.

Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service were called out to the property in Oak Place, Mayfield, Dalkeith, just after 7pm last night after being alerted to the fire by a neighbour.

The householder, understood to be a 19-year-old woman, had been trying to extinguish the fire herself but had succumbed to the smoke and was found slumped at the top of the stairs.

Firefighters helped her from the building and gave her oxygen until the arrival of an ambulance. It is understood the woman declined to go to the ERI for further treatment.

A spokesman for the fire service said: “We would like to emphasise that the advice is to get out, stay out and call ourselves, not to try and tackle the fire on your own.”