Police treat flat fire as arson

A fire at a flat in Belfast may have been started deliberately, according to police.

A woman had to be rescued from the property after the blaze broke out at the front door of the flat in Arundel Walk at about 2100 BST on Saturday.

Gordon Latimer from the fire service said it was fortunate she had a working smoke alarm fitted.

"There was a fire which was on the ground floor and the flames and smoke had cut off her escape route," he said.

"She had been in her living room watching TV and her smoke alarm alerted her.

"We put call handling procedures into place, which means a member of our control room spoke to her the whole time.

"That meant we could keep her calm, get her to a place of safety and we then got her to put a curtain through the window so we could identify exactly where she was in the building."

The woman has been treated for smoke inhalation.