A 56-year-old Dundee woman died after fire tore through her ground-floor flat in the Stobswell area.
The woman was trapped in the property as Sunday night’s blaze became so intense it caused the windows to explode, showering glass on to the street.
Although firefighters were able to drag her from the burning flat, she died later in Ninewells Hospital. Police will not release her identity until her next of kin have been informed.
Fire crews were called to the tenement building in Baldovan Terrace shortly before 4pm, by which time the property was already well ablaze.
They called for back-up and firefighters wearing breathing apparatus then entered the flat to locate and rescue the woman.
She was given treatment by paramedics before being taken to the accident and emergency department at Ninewells.
It is understood she had been badly burned and was also suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation when she was removed from the flat.
After she had been taken to hospital, six firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used two hose reel jets to get the blaze under control and carried out a full search of the rest of the tenement to ensure no other residents had been harmed.Smoke damageThe flat directly above the blaze sustained extensive smoke damage.
A total of four appliances attended the incident from the Kingsway, Blackness Road and Macalpine Road fire stations.
Police and the fire and rescue service are conducting a joint investigation into the cause of the fire, but it is not believed to be suspicious.
Station manager Fraser Scott said it was immediately clear the woman had suffered serious injuries.
He said, “Anyone involved in a fire of this magnitude has the potential to be badly hurt and she suffered a combination of burns and smoke inhalation.
“The first firefighters here were confronted with flames coming out of the property. The first breathing apparatus team entered the property, located the casualty and then removed her from the building and handed her to the paramedics, who gave her oxygen therapy.
“Subsequent teams of firefighters fought the fire and were able to extinguish it.”
Mr Scott said it is still too early to say what caused the blaze.Sympathies”Our sympathies go to the family and friends of the deceased and the wider community of Baxter Park,” he said.
Neighbours described how fire was seen leaping from the windows of the flat, as thick black clouds of smoke billowed into the sky.
Ross Mann, who lives in the neighbouring close, heard the windows being shattered because of the intensity of the blaze.
“The heat just smashed the windows out,” he said. “I’ve heard the woman was quite badly burned when she came out. There were about five or six fire trucks here at the (fire’s) peak.”
Police sealed off part of Baldovan Terrace as firefighters damped down the property and carried out checks for further hotspots in the flat.
Residents of other flats in the block were allowed back into their homes shortly after 5pm.
Craig Vogan (35), who lives on the top floor, said, “I’ve been away and just came home to find all this. I don’t know who lived in that flat, but I have only stayed here for a short time.”
A police spokesman said, “Joint investigations into the cause of the fire are at an early stage however, there do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances at this time.
“A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.”