Sleeping man suffers burns to his hands in Southsea flat fire after 'smoking in bed'

Fire crews were called to the ground-floor flat fire in Outram Road, Southsea, at 10.42pm, where they tackled the blaze until 1.30am.

The 58-year-old man in the flat has escaped by climbing out of the window.

Investigators said the fire was caused by the use of ‘smoking materials’ in bed with the man having fallen asleep.

Firefighters from Southsea, Cosham and Portchester spent almost three hours battling the blaze before the fire was extinguished and the property deemed safe at 1.30am.

A Southsea firefighter who attended the incident said: ‘This is a reminder that people should not smoke in bed and should certainly make sure any cigarettes are out.

‘If people are going to smoke then they should always try to do so outside of their properties.’

Two people from an upstairs flat managed escaped their homes unharmed.

Fire crews turned off gas and electricity supplies to the building.

Five fire appliances, an aerial ladder platform and a command unit vehicle were deployed.

Two high pressure jets and two hose reels were used to extinguish the fire.