A man has been described by firefighters as being lucky to be alive after a fire destroyed the living room of his Brighouse home early yesterday.

The blaze at the semi-detached house in Clough Lane, Rastrick, was caused by an ember being spat from an open fire.

Brighouse watch manager Nigel Dodd said: “He was very lucky. He didn’t have a smoke alarm, but was alerted to the fire by his burglar alarm system that had been affected by the blaze.

“He had closed his living room door before going to bed, so the fire didn’t spread, which saved his life.

“And, up until that night, the man had been sleeping in the living room because of a back problem.”

Mr Dodd said a fireguard had not been placed close enough to the fireplace allowing the ember to fall on to the floor.

The man, believed to be in his 40s, was alone at the house and escaped unharmed.