11:01am Monday 19th February 2007
By Jeremy Small
FIREFIGHTERS rescued a man trapped on a second-floor balcony as fire swept through the flat below.
An investigation was today under way into how the blaze started, with police officers stationed outside the block of flats in Acomb, York, throughout the night.
Horrified onlookers watched the man coughing and spluttering on the smoke-filled balcony before he could be rescued.
Two fire crews from Acomb, supported by one from York, had to tackle the flames and clear the stairway of black, acrid smoke before they could safely escort him out.
He received treatment at the scene from paramedics.
A man who was in the first-floor flat, in Thoresby Road, managed to get out before help arrived, but was taken to hospital by ambulance, suffering from severe smoke inhalation.
A third man, who was in another second-floor flat when the blaze began, managed to get out after his smoke detector warned him about the fire.
He was uninjured and returned to his flat after the flames had been put out.
The alarm was raised at about 4.15pm yesterday.
Darren Stonier, watch manager at Acomb Fire Station, said: "When we arrived, there was black, acrid smoke billowing out of the vents. It smelt really bad. The fire was mainly confined to a bedroom but the whole of the flat was severely smoke-logged."
Mr Stonier said it was lucky the man on the balcony was still standing up when the fire service arrived - if he had been unconscious they may not have known he was there.
Firefighters said because the man did not have a smoke detector, he was not alerted to the blaze before his escape route was cut off. They were due to return today to fit detectors to more homes in the area.
Colin Yarrow, 43, lives in an adjacent flat. He said: "I've never heard a bang like it. I came to the window to have a look and could see flames and smoke billowing out - lots and lots of smoke. There were dozens of people outside watching."
A spokesman for York Police said the incident was being treated as suspicious.
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