Crews from Dee Road, Whitley Wood and Caversham Road rescued a man from his flat in Goldsmid Road after his kitchen caught ablaze

At around 2am on Saturday, February 11 crews from Dee Road, Caversham Road Whitley Wood rushed to the scene in Goldsmid Road.

A vigilant neighbour had spotted smoke billowing from the property and alerted the emergency services who, on arrival forced entry to the flat.

Watch manager Mark Jones, from Dee Road Fire Station, said the blaze had started after the occupant had left cooking items unattended in his kitchen and dozed off. 

“On arrival there was smoke coming from the front door when we got to the top of the stairs,” he said. “We forced entry, it did not take a lot of smashing.

“We used four breathing apparatus, fortunately he was okay and suffering slightly with smoke inhalation, but the ambulance service saw to him."

The three crews left the flat at around 3.30am after extinguishing the blaze and making the scene safe.

“We cannot emphasise enough the seriousness of leaving cooking items unattended," added watch manager Jones.

"This incident could have been far worse had smoke alarms not been fitted and for vigilant residents.”