FIREFIGHTERS rescued 13 people from a burning building during a major emergency operation at the Shore.
Seven casualties were treated in hospital for smoke inhalation but nobody was seriously injured.
The blaze started in the first floor flat of a four-storey tenement above the Waterline Pub, in Leith, at 8.40pm last night.
The fire was reported by panicked residents above the flat who found themselves trapped by thick smoke in the stairwell.
The living room and kitchen of the home where the blaze was sparked was today described as “completely gutted”. The rest of the flat suffered extensive smoke damage.
Around 45 firefighters tackled the flames and rescued people from windows at the front and side of the tenement on Waters Close using a turntable ladder and a hydraulic platform.
It is not yet known what started the blaze. An investigation is under way today.
Fire service telephone operators provided survival guidance for residents trapped in flats above the blaze.
Initial reports suggested some residents had been unaccounted for but fire crews carried out multiple rescues and fought the flames using breathing kits and high pressure hose reels.
Four people were rescued by hydraulic platform, one by ladder and others were led to safety by firefighters using the stairs.
It is understood the occupant of the flat where the fire sparked had been in a nearby pub and was contacted by a friend to say her home was ablaze.
When she arrived at the scene the woman was said to be “hysterical” and believed her parents may have been inside.
Witnesses told how smoke was bellowing from the first floor windows while flames could be seen tearing through the flat.
David Young, group commander at Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service, said: “[We were told] there was the possibility there were people trapped inside the building. When we arrived there was a well developed fire in the first floor flat above the Waterline Pub.
“We performed multiple rescues using a hydraulic platform at the front and the side of the building while there was also a rescue using a ladder at Waters Close. No one has been reported injured at this point.
“Control operators were giving survival guidance over the phone to people trapped inside.
“It could have been very serious. We were rescuing people from the windows and when people cannot escape using their stairwell it’s very frightening for them.”
2011年11月2日星期三
2011年5月8日星期日
Families spend day celebrating Cinco de Mayo at Island Grove
Desiree Salazar and Victor Ruiz of Evans stood and smiled Saturday afternoon at Island Grove Regional Park, watching their kids soak in the inflatable play sets and activity center.
On one of the brightest and warmest days Greeley has seen this spring, hundreds of people flowed in and out of Island Grove, 14th Avenue and A Street, Greeley, for the Cinco De Mayo Family Fiesta.
“It is sort of played off from what it really was but everybody is enjoying it,” Ruiz said. “Fast cars, food and stuff for the kids. It used to be more about the dances and everything else and now it’s about the lowriders, but everybody is enjoying themselves.”
Salazar said her family usually attends this event every year.
“Just having fun and enjoying a wonderful day,” she said of their trip to the fiesta.
The fiesta, sponsored by the Latino Chamber of Commerce, had a lot going on inside and outside the events center.
Wall-to-wall booths offered various food items — everything from popcorn to smothered burritos or pizza — and jewelry, clothes, hats and more were all for sale. While people wandered the endless aisles of items, they were entertained by several bands and dance groups performing on the main stage.
About 100 bright, shiny — and some even glittery — cars filled the exhibition hall and spilled out into the street. Each car had something special to show. A white-and-cream 1969 Volkswagen Beetle had screens built into each door and the radio console that displayed music videos and offered sound that could rival the live bands.
Kids were not left out, as there was a petting zoo, pony rides and several inflatable play places.
Despite all of the modern takes on the holiday, one piece of tradition remained: Aztec dancers.
Two groups, the Tonantzin of Greeley and the Huitzilopochtli of Denver, dressed in traditional brightly colored dresses with beads and a feathered headdress.
The Aztec dance begins with participants asking their ancestors for permission to dance. They then begin a series of dances that have been passed through generations. They danced to drum beats and provided their own flair of percussion with handmade “bones of a tree” attached to their ankles to mimic the sounds of a river.
For the dancers, the day ended on a traditional note. They closed their day as they started it in the parade — by returning their focus to the ancestors to tell them they are done.
“We do that at the beginning to open the circle, and we do that at the end to close the circle,” dancer Delfina Franco said.
Franco said the dances combine to tell key parts of Aztec history.
“These dances are from way back when the Aztecs lived,” she said. “It’s a traditional thing. They kept on passing it down, and now we are the ones doing it.”
On one of the brightest and warmest days Greeley has seen this spring, hundreds of people flowed in and out of Island Grove, 14th Avenue and A Street, Greeley, for the Cinco De Mayo Family Fiesta.
“It is sort of played off from what it really was but everybody is enjoying it,” Ruiz said. “Fast cars, food and stuff for the kids. It used to be more about the dances and everything else and now it’s about the lowriders, but everybody is enjoying themselves.”
Salazar said her family usually attends this event every year.
“Just having fun and enjoying a wonderful day,” she said of their trip to the fiesta.
The fiesta, sponsored by the Latino Chamber of Commerce, had a lot going on inside and outside the events center.
Wall-to-wall booths offered various food items — everything from popcorn to smothered burritos or pizza — and jewelry, clothes, hats and more were all for sale. While people wandered the endless aisles of items, they were entertained by several bands and dance groups performing on the main stage.
About 100 bright, shiny — and some even glittery — cars filled the exhibition hall and spilled out into the street. Each car had something special to show. A white-and-cream 1969 Volkswagen Beetle had screens built into each door and the radio console that displayed music videos and offered sound that could rival the live bands.
Kids were not left out, as there was a petting zoo, pony rides and several inflatable play places.
Despite all of the modern takes on the holiday, one piece of tradition remained: Aztec dancers.
Two groups, the Tonantzin of Greeley and the Huitzilopochtli of Denver, dressed in traditional brightly colored dresses with beads and a feathered headdress.
The Aztec dance begins with participants asking their ancestors for permission to dance. They then begin a series of dances that have been passed through generations. They danced to drum beats and provided their own flair of percussion with handmade “bones of a tree” attached to their ankles to mimic the sounds of a river.
For the dancers, the day ended on a traditional note. They closed their day as they started it in the parade — by returning their focus to the ancestors to tell them they are done.
“We do that at the beginning to open the circle, and we do that at the end to close the circle,” dancer Delfina Franco said.
Franco said the dances combine to tell key parts of Aztec history.
“These dances are from way back when the Aztecs lived,” she said. “It’s a traditional thing. They kept on passing it down, and now we are the ones doing it.”
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