A 50 YEAR old man was rescued by the fire brigade from his upstairs flat this evening. All of the emergency services attended. The man was transferred to the Memorial Hospital with a suspected wrist fracture, sustained while trying to escape from the fire.

The chip pan fire caused serious damage to the flat at 28 Cloverdale, Haughton, Whinfield in Darlington. The fire had the potential to spread. Local resident Mike Haw said: “Some innocent person could have been killed.”

Mr. M.W. Hellwood, the injured man's downstairs neighbour said: “I think it is disgusting…I didn’t know about the fire until the fire engines turned up and the hoses came out. We have all got to live here together."

Andy Bruce, Darlington fire station manager said: “A 50 year old gentleman was rescued by us. He put the call in and he lives alone. He fell down the stairs. It was a chip pan fire. He did have smoke alarms but it appears that the wires have been cut. This means that he did not have a working alarm in the house. We could easily have been looking at a fatality. People must make sure that they have a working and well maintained smoke alarm. Darlington fire crews will gladly come round and give safety advice as well as fit smoke alarms.”

W.P.C. Astrid Chapman said: “There are no suspicious circumstances.”