Four firefighters injured in flats rescue

Four firefighters were injured rescuing a resident from a blaze that engulfed flats in Wandsworth.

Six people escaped from the three-storey building before the brigade arrived.

The blaze broke out in flats above an empty shop in East Hill at about 10.40pm on Saturday. It took 40 firefighters more than three hours to get it under control.

The four injured crew, who wore breathing apparatus to get inside the building and lead the trapped resident to safety, suffered burns to their arms and were taken to hospital. None of the injuries was life-threatening and two firefighters were discharged from hospital last night.

An investigation is under way today into the cause of the blaze. A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: "It damaged the ground, first and second floors of the converted three-storey terrace house."