FIREFIGHTERS rescued a man during a bungalow fire in Basildon last night.

The fire service received a call from a neighbour who had seen smoke and heard smoke alarms going off at the bungalow on Walthams Place just after 6pm.

Control Room operators sent two crews from Basildon and one crew from Rayleigh to the scene. On arrival they reported that a bungalow was 100 per cent smoke logged with a developing fire covering 30 per cent of the property.

Firefighters forced entry to the property and rescued a man who was unconscious in the hallway.

Crews carried the man outside and gave him oxygen therapy until the arrival of Ambulance Service colleagues. Crews extinguished the fire by 7:02pm.

The property was destroyed in the fire and an investigation will be carried out to determine the cause.

Crew Manager Dan Tolley from Basildon Fire Station said: "Crews acted quickly to gain access to the property and undoubtedly saved the man's life as it was so heavily smoke-logged in the house.

"This incident highlights how important it is to keep an eye out for your neighbours and act quickly when you hear smoke alarms going off. Our praise goes to the man's neighbours who acted quickly to save their neighbour's life."