Firefighters arrived in the nick of time to save a man from fire at a Caversham property today.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand Lookout Point Station Officer Peter O’Shea said his crew was called to reports of a house fire in the Dunedin suburb about 11.30am.
Two crews arrived to find a heavily smoke-logged house in Peter St with no one outside.
Mr O'Shea called for more appliances, and firefighters using breathing apparatus entered the house and found a man.
‘‘He was still standing in the smoke when my crews got to him and he collapsed at that point.’’
The man was dragged out and other firefighters began first aid, including oxygen therapy.
He was in serious condition suffering from smoke inhalation and taken to a St John ambulance, Mr O’Shea said.
The incident showed the time-critical nature of firefighters’ jobs, as the man would have died if the response had been two or three minutes slower, Mr O'Shea said.
All Dunedin stations were open and fully staffed, which meant crews were able to arrive quickly and call for back-up.
However, closed stations and short crews were a factor firefighters were dealing with across the country, which was part of why they were taking industrial action, he said.
