Crews from Central station were called to the same flat on Exeter Drive, Broomhall, twice in less than eight hours after the male resident fell asleep twice while cooking.

The first incident happened at around 11.50pm on Wednesday when he nodded off on the sofa and breathed in smoke while a pan was on the stove.

The second happened at around 7.25am yesterday when, again, the man fell asleep on the sofa while cooking a pan of chips. He had to be rushed to hospital with burns following the second emergency.

Today a spokesman for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: "There was a working smoke alarm in the property but the occupant failed to wake up.

"The flat was heavily smoke logged and, had we arrived just 10 minutes later, I don't think he would have survived to tell the tale."

Although the pan did not actually catch fire the first time, the oil inside got so hot that the flat was heavily smoke logged causing the smoke to go off.

But the man slept through the sound of its siren – and it was left to worried neighbours to raise the alarm by banging on the door.

When he still failed to wake up, fire crews were forced to break down the door. He suffered smoke inhalation but refused hospital treatment – but just over seven hours later he was rushed to hospital suffering burns and more smoke inhalation in a second blaze.

Originally crews thought their second call to the flats was pure coincidence but they quickly realised they had been called to exactly the same flat.

The man suffered burns to his hands while trying to put the blaze out, having this time been woken by the smoke alarm.


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