FIRE has gutted the living room of a house in Whitefield Crescent, Newtown St Boswells.
The blaze was discovered around 6.30pm last Thursday and firefighters wearing breathing apparatus had to force their way into the burning property to tackle the flames.
The 55-year-old woman who lived in the house was unhurt, but because of the damage to the living room and the smoke damage to the remainder of the house, it was rendered uninhabitable.
Police said the woman had been re-housed with the assistance of the council.
A police spokesman confirmed: “The living room was consumed by the fire and the rest of the house was severely damaged by smoke.”