Woman dies in blaze at north-east cottage

Tragedy at edge of city

A woman has died following a blaze at a cottage on the outskirts of Aberdeen yesterday afternoon.

The emergency services were called to the scene of the incident west of Peterculter at Benthoul Cottage at about 3.15pm.

When fire teams arrived, they were faced with a welldeveloped, single-storey house fire.

Police have confirmed that a woman died as a result of the tragedy and an investigation has been launched.

Last night, roads close to the scene of the incident were shut as four fire appliances, a water carrier and a fire incident report vehicle attended the incident.

Fire crews remained at the home for several hours after the majority of the blaze was put out to ensure the situation was under control.

Crew members could be seen at the top of a ladder of a height vehicle spraying water through the roof of the property. Police teams were also in attendance.

Last night, a police spokesman said: “Emergency services were alerted to the incident at around 3.20pm at a farmhouse in the Anguston Road, Peterculter area. Despite the best efforts of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the woman sadly died at the scene. A man who had to be assisted from the property sustained minor injuries.”

The cottage lies to the north-west of the VSA charity’s Easter Anguston Farm and a short distance north of the Erinvale Cattery.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “It was a single-storey property with the fire well alight when our crews arrived. We had four appliances, a water carrier and incident report vehicle called to the scene.

“Our crews used two hose reel jets to help extinguish the fire and six breathing apparatus were also in use.

“The stop message came in at 4.49pm, but our crew remained at the scene to dampen down hotspots.”

Photograph by Darrell Benns DAMPENING THE HOTSPOTS: Fire appliances at the scene last night.