A MAN and his dog were rescued by firefighters after a suspicious blaze at their Chorley flat.

The resident, believed to be in his 50s, was found ‘disoriented’ in his smoke-filled lounge when the crew entered through the unlocked backdoor of the ground floor apartment in Fell View.

He was led outside to safety by two firefighters, who headed back into flat to get his Staffordshire bull terrier before putting out the fire.

The blaze caused 30 per cent damage to the hallway of the flat and was put out using a hose reel.

Paramedics treated the man for smoke inhalation at the scene before an ambulance took him to hospital for precautionary checks.

Watch manager Naveed Sharif said: “We got there within three minutes of the call being made and it was just in the nick of time.

“The consequences could’ve been fatal.

“It just goes to show the importance of having a smoke alarm.

“It saved his life.”

The resident’s upstairs neighbour called 999 after hearing the smoke alarm of the ground floor apartment bleeping for ten minutes at around 10.30pm yesterday.

The police and fire service are carrying out a joint investigation into the incident.