A man is lucky to be alive today after his home was destroyed by fire ... but he has been badly burned.
The inferno swept through the 51-year-old’s back-to-back house in Calderdale with flames shooting out of the window by the time Rastrick firefighters arrived.
The crew and another engine from Halifax fire station were called to the home on Station Road in Holywell Green at 1am today.
Rastrick crew manager Tony Rostron said: “The flames were coming out of the windows when we arrived but the man who lives there had managed to get himself out. He has suffered around 40% burns.
“The fire had started in the bedroom and quickly spread throughout the upstairs. The house is open plan and so the fire also then took hold downstairs too.
“It was so hot, especially upstairs, that all the plaster had come off the walls and the stone was even falling off.”
The fire, heat and flames had destroyed around 80% of the interior.
The man was taken to Calderdale Royal Hospital for treatment.
There was a smoke detector in the house.
Crew manager Rostron added: “It looks like the man had been renovating the house, especially downstairs.”
