Richard Trotter (52) said he was driving past Nita Notman's Harington Point Rd property on the Otago Peninsula just after 9pm on Thursday when he noticed smoke coming from the house. He stopped and saw a glow coming from the building.
He called 111, drove up the drive and called out at the door to see if anyone was in the house.
When 87-year-old Mrs Notman responded, he crawled into the smoke-filled house to find her lying on the floor. She had fallen and knocked her head and was stunned and unsteady on her feet.
Mr Trotter dragged her outside on to the drive, just as the house was engulfed in flames.
The fire brigade arrived shortly after.
Portobello volunteer fire brigade chief Bruce Didham said it was four hours before the brigade was satisfied the fire was completely out. The house was damaged beyond repair.
The fire service and police yesterday praised Mr Trotter's actions, and Mrs Notman's son Miles Notman said the family was grateful he was there at the right time.
"The timing was perfect to save my mother."
Fire safety officer Barry Gibson said he had no doubt that if Mr Trotman had not been there and pulled her out, "we would be dealing with a fatal fire here".
Portobello policeman Senior Constable Lox Kellas agreed.
"His actions were pretty brave indeed. If he didn't drag her out of there, it would have been sad story," he said.
But Mr Trotter yesterday said he wanted no fuss.
He described himself as a modest man who preferred to keep to himself.
His reaction had been instinctive, he said.
"It was just how you react when you see that sort of thing."
He only hoped Mrs Notman was not too badly bruised from being dragged out of the building.
He did not know the Notman family personally, but hoped they had not lost all of their "family treasures" in the fire.
Mr Notman said his mother was in a stable condition in Dunedin Hospital. She had taken a knock to the head, had some bruising and was badly shaken, but was otherwise fine, although not up to receiving visitors. .
Mr Gibson said the fire had started in a multiboard in the kitchen, where a plug had been forced in on an angle moving its pins out of line. It was a salient reminder to people not to move the pins on any plugs, especially ones plugged in a multibox.
It was a common cause of fires, as electricity eventually started arcing around the plug, he said.
