FIREFIGHTERS who rescued a man from his Dorchester flat yesterday warned that he could have been killed because he covered up his smoke alarm.

Leading Firefighter Des Watts pulled the young man from his smoke-logged flat on the ground floor of a housing association block in High West Street.

Divisional officer Malcolm Lucas warned that the man, who had fallen asleep, could have died of smoke inhalation because his detector was covered up.

Two crews from Dorchester were called to the blaze, which was believed to have been sparked by a pan left on a stove.

Sub officer Steve Cheeseman said: "Leading Firefighter Watts went in and saw the room was smoke-logged.

"The man had fallen asleep on his bed and the room had filled with smoke. The firefighter saw the man and pulled him out." He added: "This shows how important it is to have smoke detectors working."

The occupant, who is in his late teens or early 20s, was given oxygen but refused further treatment after the 6pm blaze last night.

The other tenants fled the building near the King's Arms after an alarm sounded and motorists faced minor delays to drive around the fire engines.

Divisional Officer Malcolm Lucas said: "He was a very lucky young man. The detector was covered up, but it still went off. This may have been because of the amount of smoke."

He added that people should fit smoke detectors and make sure they work properly.