A MAN was taken to hospital last night after a fire broke out in the living room of his second-floor flat in Dundee.

Neighbours alerted emergency services at around 7pm after a smoke alarm went off in a third floor flat on Lawrence Street above where the fire occurred.

Police blocks were placed on Milnbank Road and Lawrence Street as firefighters rescued the man from his apartment. Three water pumps and one aerial appliance were deployed.

The building was checked by firefighters using breathing apparatus to confirm the fire had not spread and no one else had been hurt.

One resident said he heard the cries for help.

“I heard the man smash his window and shout for help to some people on the street who were calling the police,” said Alex Graham.

“After that the man disappeared and the next time I saw him he was rescued by the firemen and taken to hospital in an ambulance. He was barely conscious when I saw him.”

The neighbour in the flat above had called the police when her smoke alarm went off. Watch manager Nick McDonald said that it was of prime importance to notify the fire service when alerted to a fire by smoke alarm.

“We were initially alerted to the fire at 18.55pm,” he said. “The woman in the flat above alerted the police when her smoke alarm detected the fire downstairs.

“We would stress the message that in incidents like this people should notify us first rather than the police when their smoke alarms go off.

“The fire occurred in the sitting room of the flat and once we had gained access we rescued one man who has been taken to hospital.

“He was semi-conscious at the time.

“We are not yet sure what caused the fire and the incident is still being investigated.

“It is not being treated as suspicious in any way.

“Firefighters have also checked the rest of the block and the fire did not spread further than the living room of that man’s flat.