Pensioner rescued after flat below is gutted by fire

A discarded cigarette is thought the likely cause of the blaze in the ground floor home on Ludlow Drive in Leigh on Friday April 8.

The occupant, thought to be in his 40s, had fallen asleep in the living room and woke at 2am to find the soft furnishings ablaze.

His first concern was for the elderly man who lives upstairs and so he ran out of the home and up the steps to the council flat above, banging on the door in an attempt to rouse him.

Fire crews from Leigh, Atherton and Hindley arrived and got into the upper flat to lead the distressed pensioner to safety.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics but taken to hospital for a precautionary check-up.

Two firefighters wearing breathing gear and using hose reels took about half an hour to damp down the flames.

Leigh watch manager Howard Denton said: “We are putting down smoking materials as the likely cause of the fire.

"There was a working smoke alarm in the flat and while it is not clear at what point it did its job, I would urge all residents to make sure that they have alarms in their own homes.

"Many times would things be a whole lot worse if smoke alarms aren’t there or working to alert you to a fire.

"Thankfully in this case both of the men involved appear to have escaped relatively unscathed, although the ground floor flat was a mess.”