Three rescued from fire in north Belfast

Three people have been rescued from a fire which broke out at a block of flats in north Belfast.

Around twenty firefighters tackled the fire, which started in a ground floor flat at Cliftonville Avenue at around 11pm on Monday night. Several firemen donned breathing apparatus to enter the building and rescued the three individuals inside, who were treated at the scene but did not require hospital treatment.

Police say they are treating the fire as suspicious, and will carry out an investigation into the cause of the blaze. Assistant Fire Officer Colin Dickson added that a contributing factor to the starting of the fire had been a smoke alarm which failed to worked properly. He stated: "We would recommend that people do test their smoke alarms to make sure they are working at all times."

(CL)