Firefighters rescue sleeping man from kitchen blaze

Firefighters rescued a man who fell asleep while cooking in his Brighton flat.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said that neighbours in the upstairs flat dialled 999 when they noticed smoke drifting into their home in Gladstone Terrace, Brighton.

The fire service said: “Four crews were mobilised to the incident on Saturday (8 March) at 9.07pm and remained there for half an hour tackling the blaze.

“Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus forced entry into the property and used one hose reel which enabled them to rescue the casualty, who was treated at the scene by paramedics for inhaling smoke.

“The cause of the fire was found to be accidental due to a pan of food being left unattended on the cooker.”

The fire service added: “More than half of accidental fires at home are started by cooking and many kitchen fires happen when people are not paying attention or they leave things unattended.”

And it emphasised the importance of fitting working smoke alarms.