Published: Thursday, 2nd July, 2009 7:00am

Collapsed man is saved from fire

A 48-YEAR-OLD"s birthday celebrations almost ended in tragedy when a fire broke out in his Dunbar home on Saturday night.

Stuart Pearson, of Lammermuir Crescent, had been preparing food at around 10.30pm when he suffered an unexpected seizure and collapsed behind his kitchen door.

As the father-of-one"s dinner went up in flames, thick black smoke filled the kitchen and threatened to kill him until firefighters broke down the front door and he was pulled, semi-conscious, from the choking flat.

Mr Pearson (pictured) says he has no memory of his lucky escape, which came after a concerned neighbour alerted emergency services upon hearing the property"s fire alarm and seeing smoke pour from the windows.

'It wasn"t the best birthday present,' a recovered Mr Pearson told the Courier.

'I"d just keeled over and that was me.

'The first thing I remember I was in the hospital. I don"t have any recollection of falling or being carried outside.

'But the firemen did a great job and if it was not for them, and the actions of my neighbour, I would have been dead from smoke inhalation.'

Mr Pearson was treated for smoke inhalation and given oxygen by firefighters outside his home until an ambulance arrived, taking him to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

'When I woke up in hospital I could hardly breathe,' added Mr Pearson, who was released from hospital on Sunday and has been prescribed antibiotics to help repair his lungs from the smoke damage.

Kevin Blair, Dunbar watch manager, said the birthday boy was fortunate to have escaped Saturday"s blaze relatively unscathed.

'He was found lying behind the kitchen door only half with it, and with a pan of food alight on the cooker,' he said.

'He was quite fortunate that it wasn"t more serious for him, but at the same time the pan had mostly burned itself out by the time we had arrived.

'All we had to do was to turn off the cooker.

'It was quite a small fire that had been smouldering for a while but there was quite a bit of smoke.'

About 15 firefighters from Haddington, Dunbar and East Linton attended the incident and rescued the stricken casualty using breathing apparatus.

However, rumours suggesting Mr Pearson was drunk when he collapsed have enraged the Dunbar resident, who hit out against the Chinese whisperers.

He claims Saturday"s seizure was the second time he had spontaneously collapsed this year and he has now scheduled an appointment with a neurologist at Roodlands Hospital in Haddington.

'The things that have been said are disgusting,' said Mr Pearson.

'People have been saying that I"m dead or seriously injured, while I have also heard I was lying in a drunken stupor when they found me - but I don"t even drink!

'For my part I just want to thank the fire brigade for saving my life and doing a great job.'