Woman dies after Western General fire

Firefighters dealt with a fire and evacuation of patients from the Royal Victoria Building in the Western General Hospital in the early hours of this morning.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) were alerted to a fire in the Royal Victoria Building, Western General Hospital, Porterfield Road, Edinburgh at around 2.30am.

This was an Automatic Fire Alarm call received by SFRS Operations Control Room in Edinburgh from the Hospital switch board.

Fire appliances from Crewe toll, Tollcross and McDonald Road community fire stations were immediately dispatched and arrived to find what they described as a small fire in a ground floor ward of the Royal Victoria Building.

Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the ward, dealt with the fire and an injured female patient.

At the same time, firefighters also assisted hospital staff with the evacuation of 14 other patients from the affected ward to another area within the hospital.

Sadly the female patient passed away at the scene and SFRS Fire Investigation Unit officers along with Police Scotland officers are working together to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.