Boys with firelighters spotted before eco flats blaze

Firefighters were forced to smash through a metal gate to tackle the blaze at the block, because the entire area is a "car-free" development.

One resident explained that two young boys had been spotted near the doors of stair 11 with newspapers and firelighters in their hands.

Shortly after, smoke started billowing out of one of the top floor flats and flames were seen at the windows of one of the homes.

The resident, who asked not to be named, said: "In all the ten years I have lived here there have never been any fires, then there was one at a flat nearby the one that went up today in January. We're wondering if somebody is causing bother.

"My neighbour said he'd seen two lads near the scene just before the flames started jumping up the building. It looked pretty bad. The building is wood so it went up quick. There were lots of police looking into it."

A resident in the affected block, who only identified herself as Debbie, said: "I was in my sitting room watching telly when I heard crackling noises coming from above. I opened my back door and could see smoke coming from the top floor and I panicked. I called 999 and told them to get here quick as the building is wooden. Police told us it's a crime scene."

Another resident suggested that there could have been four boys spotted nearby the scene before the blaze.

Resident Shaun Costello said the building appeared to have been set on fire from the outside. He claimed the construction of the building - in particular the insulation - made it a potential fire hazard.

He said: "It's a paper mache thing sprayed in between two walls. It's excellent insulation but no good when it comes to fireproofing."

The wooden walls of the flats are understood to be insulated with old newspapers as part of the environment-friendly credentials of the development.

Residents reported that firefighters had been forced to remove a metal barrier at the block using specialist equipment as they were unable to get a fire engine with a turntable ladder through the gap.

A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Fire Service said: "The fire started at the exterior on the ground floor. It spread to the roof space and was behind the wall cladding. We are checking for hotspots now. All residents are present and accounted for."

Nigel Hicks, Finance Director of the developers, Dunedin Canmore said: "We have a surveyor and a housing officer down there now."