Firefighter killed tackling pub blaze

A firefighter was killed today and another injured after a floor collapsed while they fought a blaze in a pub, a fire service said.

The officers were injured at the Balmoral bar in Dalry Road, Edinburgh, after the blaze broke out shortly after midnight.

Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue said: "Tragically despite the efforts of his colleague, one of these firefighters lost his life."

The other firefighter was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Around 70 firefighters are tackling the blaze.

Lothian and Borders Fire (LBFR) and Rescue's chief fire officer Brian Allaway said: "LBFR is a close-knit community and we are all devastated by this loss and concerned about our injured colleague.

"The thoughts of every single member of the service are with the families of the firefighter and our injured colleague.

"This is a tragic day for our service."

More than 10 people had to be rescued from the multi-storey tenement block above the Balmoral, which is a basement bar.

The fire service was alerted at 12.38am and officers arrived to find a "severe" fire raging in the bar.

LBFR said the officers were part of a team wearing breathing apparatus when a floor collapsed inside the bar.

A number of other officers rushed to help.

The injured firefighter has been taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where doctors do not believe he has been seriously injured.

Mr Allaway said: "It was a very difficult fire to deal with - the flames were so fierce. It's been an absolute tragedy for us."

He added: "We have launched a full investigation into the incident."

A total of 16 fire appliances are currently at the scene.

The Balmoral is on the corner of Dalry Road - one of the main routes in to central Edinburgh - and Downfield Place.

It has three storeys of residential accommodation above the ground floor bar premises, with other shops and terraced tenements either side.

Those rescued from the flats above the pub included young children and adults.

Some required treatment by paramedics at the scene, and it is thought that the worst injuries were severe smoke inhalation.