A woman in her 70s was rushed to hospital with burns and smoke inhalation following a house fire in Co Antrim.
The fire was started in the Rathglynn area of Antrim in the early hours of Tuesday.
Two other people, a woman in her 40s was also treated for hand injuries and smoke inhalation after she attempted to free the pensioner from the property. A man in his 40s who also tried to help was given treatment for smoke inhalation.
Read more: Woman in her 70s hospitalised for burns after Antrim 'arson attack'
The PSNI is treating the incident as "arson with intent" and has launched an appeal for information.
Detective Sergeant Crothers said: “The property was significantly damaged and at this stage, the incident is being treated as arson with intent.
“Enquiries are continuing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and police would appeal to anyone with any information, to contact them on 101 quoting reference number 120 21/01/25. Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ . You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.”
SDLP Antrim councillor Roisin Lynch said: "This is an absolutely disgraceful incident that resulted in a woman in her 70s being rescued from her home and taken to hospital having suffered burns and some inhalation. This must have been an absolutely terrifying experience for this woman and I can’t begin to imagine why anyone would target the home of an older person in this way.
“I would like to commend the man and woman who did their best to help this woman escape the fire and the fire service for their response. Without them we could have been dealing with an awful tragedy this morning. People in this area are shocked that this has happened on their doorsteps and that a member of their community was placed in harm’s way.
“I would urge anyone with any information about this incident to come forward to police."
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