EMERGENCY crews fought in vain to safe the life of a pensioner after being called to a blaze at his home.

Fire and ambulance personnel raced to the scene in Grange Road, Weymouth, after neighbours raised the alarm.

They reported seeing smoke coming from the property on Friday evening.

Paramedics found the man, named as John Charmer, collapsed on the floor, and carried out emergency resuscitation at the scene.

It is believed Mr Charmer, believed to be in his 70s and a widower, suffered the fatal attack before food in his oven caught fire.

A Dorset Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said two crews from Weymouth and one from Portland were called to Mr Charmer’s home by neighbours at around 7pm.

The spokesman said the first crew was on the scene within four minutes of receiving the call and that the fire was caused by unattended cooking in an oven.

Attempts by paramedics to resuscitate Mr Charmer, assisted by fire service personnel, were unsuccessful and the case has been handed to the coroner.

Several of Mr Charmer’s neighbours said they smelled fire at the property before emergency crews arrived and closed the road.

All of Mr Charmer’s neighbours paid tribute to a man they described as a gentleman.

Support worker and Grange Road resident Dawn Ralph, 38, said: “I really only knew him to speak to but he was a very nice man.

“He was very pleasant and gentlemanly and would always say: ‘hello’ when walking past our house.”

She added: “I was at work until about 7pm on Friday.

“When I came home I saw that the emergency services had blocked off the road at both ends and I could smell something strange on the air.”

She added that she was shocked and saddened to learn of Mr Charmer’s death. Hospital administrator, Anne Pinder, 61, of Grange Road, said: “He was just a very pleasant sort of gentleman and a good neighbour. There were never any problems from him and he was a really nice guy.”

Thelma Martin, who also lives in Grange Road, was equally shocked to learn of Mr Charmer’s death.

She said: “We realised there was a problem at his property after we smelled a strange smell, but we didn’t know what it was at the time.

“Then we had all these fire engines turn up, because we were worried we might have to evacuate our property for some reason.

“We didn’t realise what the problem was until we saw John being brought out of his house by paramedics. It’s such a shame because he was a lovely man.”

Mr Charmer’s daughter and son-in-law, who also live in Grange Road, said they were too devastated by news of his death to comment.

They did, however, praise neighbours, fire and ambulance crews for their efforts to help.

Weymouth ambulance station lead paramedic, Emma Keegan, confirmed Mr Charmer was in cardiac arrest and had been recovered from the property by paramedics before the property was logged with smoke.

She added: “Paramedics worked on him but unfortunately he was pronounced dead at the scene and was not taken to hospital.”