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A man rescued from a Northeast Valley house by two police officers yesterday morning was seconds away from being overcome by smoke, police say.
Two constables were praised for their quick action in pulling the 47-year-old Dunedin man from his bedroom after he became disoriented by thick smoke.
Senior Sergeant Ed Baker, of Dunedin, said the officers were on patrol early yesterday when they noticed a fire at the plaster house on North Rd, Northeast Valley, about 2.15am.
They alerted a neighbour, who told them there was a man in the house. The pair smashed a window and called to the occupant, who was disoriented.
They used torches to find him and pulled him out of the house.
‘‘By the time they got him out, the smoke level was down below the window,'' Snr Sgt Baker said. "They probably saved his life.''
The man was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and firefighters spent more than five hours dampening down the blaze.
The house suffered extensive smoke and water damage. Neighbours were also evacuated for a short time, but were allowed to return to their homes as rain began to fall.
Neighbour Gabrielle David said she woke to hear her neighbour screaming as he was pulled out of the house by police. He was comforted by another neighbour and was said to be distraught.
Ms David said the man had lived in the house for about six or seven years and had spent a lot of time renovating it. His partner was in the North Island.
Ms David did not know if the owners had insurance. Southern region fire safety investigator Terry Glass said the fire was not suspicious and, at this stage, appeared to have started from of a faulty multi-box