THE daughter of a Fife MSP has praised the “hero” firefighter who rescued her after a fire broke out in a block of flats.

Danielle Rowley was one of 11 people who had to be rescued from their homes by ladder after heavy smoke filled the common stairwell in the building in Edinburgh's Leith Walk in the early hours of last Sunday.

Ms Rowley, who was the MP for Midlothian between 2017 and 2019 and is daughter of Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Alex Rowley, took to Twitter to thank the emergency services.

She posted: “The biggest ever thank you to the amazing fire, ambulance and police officers who helped us, especially the fireman who managed to pull me out a window and get me down a ladder to safety. The word hero here isn’t an exaggeration.”

Two men were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation after the blaze, while nine people were treated at the scene.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) spokeswoman said on Sunday: “Operations control mobilised a total of nine appliances to Leith Walk and firefighters safely removed 11 people from the building by ladder due to the presence of heavy smoke in the common stairwell.

“The adults were found to be suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation, with seven women and two men treated at the scene and two remaining men transferred to hospital.

“Crews thereafter contained and extinguished the fire and left the scene at 3.35am after ensuring that the area had been made safe.”