Four older people rescued by firefighters after blaze breaks out at sheltered accommodation

Five fire crews were tasked to the incident at Mount Vernon Court shortly before 10pm.

A woman and two men aged in their 60s and 70s were rescued from the property, and man aged in his 80s was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

A Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) spokesperson said: “NIFRS responded to a call at 9.54pm on 2 January 2019 to a report of a fire in a flat at Mount Vernon Court sheltered dwellings, Belfast.

“Five fire appliances from Whitla, Lisburn, Westland and Central Fire Stations attended the incident.

“Firefighters rescued a woman in her 70s and two men in their 60s and 70s from the property – they were uninjured. A man in his 80s was led to safety by firefighters and treated at the scene by Ambulance personnel for smoke inhalation but did not attend hospital.

“Two other residents from the floor where the fire occurred were out of the property prior to arrival of fire crews.”

The spokesperson said the cause of the fire was accidental.

“Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished the fire in the flat and ventilated the property. Sounding smoke alarms alerted the occupants to the fire. The cause of the fire was accidental. The incident was dealt with at 11.59pm,” she added.

A spokesperson for Radius Housing, which owns the property, commented: “A fire took place last night at Mount Vernon Court and both NIFRS and Radius staff attended the incident.

“The fire was contained in one apartment and one resident was treated for smoke inhalation.

“Smoke damage was caused to the corridor on the floor which the fire took place and we are working today with repair and cleaning contractors to fix this damage.”