Firefighters are urging members of the public not to take action into their own hands after a St Davids man was seriously injured trying to extinguish a fire in his home.

The man had left an open fire unattended when he went briefly to check on neighbours last Friday afternoon, on his return he was confronted with a fire in his living room. The man decided to re-enter the property to tackle the blaze and sustained burns to his legs.

Fire crews from St Davids and Haverfordwest extinguished the blaze and provided first aid treatment to the casualty, who was subsequently taken to hospital by ambulance.

“On arrival my crews were faced with a living room fire which was heavily smoke- logged,” said incident commander Tom Lavin. “The crews utilised specialist breathing apparatus and a high powered jet.”

“Our advice to homeowners who return to this type of scenario would be to stay out of the property and not to attempt to extinguish the fire.

“It is vital that you call the fire service as soon as possible so that we can effectively and safely deal with the incident.”

Pembrokeshire community safety manager Sion Slaymaker added: “As we enter the festive period, even those with central heating think of lighting open fires in the home.

“We would urge that you ensure that the chimney is swept and suitable, that you have a carbon monoxide detector fitted and that you do not leave open fires unattended.”

The fire service’s free home fire safety check, which may involve the fitting of potentially lifesaving smoke detectors, can be booked by phoning 0800 169 1234 or online at www.freesmokealarm.co.uk/ .