A FELIXSTOWE dad has today thanked the pub landlord who rushed to his rescue when his house set on fire.Jonathan Field was woken at about 5pm on Saturday not by his fire alarm but because he was choking on the smoke which was filling his Cavendish Road home.

A FELIXSTOWE dad has today thanked the pub landlord who rushed to his rescue when his house set on fire.

Jonathan Field was woken at about 5pm on Saturday not by his fire alarm but because he was choking on the smoke which was filling his Cavendish Road home.

He said: “There were blue flames coming across the ceiling, it all happened so quickly I didn't have time to get scared but I was choking because of all the smoke.

“I wasn't thinking straight but I called the fire brigade from a pay phone and they only took a few minutes to come, it felt like a lifetime though.”

The 41-year-old who lives in a basement flat near the seafront on his own was helped by Hugh Boyle, the landlord of the nearby Felsto Arms who used a fire extinguisher to dampen the flames before the firefighters arrived.

Mr Field added: “Everyone was so helpful and the firefighters said if the landlord hadn't helped the damage could have been a lot worse.

“He was really fantastic and I can't thank him enough.”

Mr Boyle said he did not think twice about going to Mr Field's rescue.

He said: “We had a fire extinguisher and he had a fire so we just helped in the way we could.

“One of the barmaids came running in saying there was a fire so I ran out and spoke to the guy.

“I remembered that you can't use water on electric equipment but we had a CO2 extinguisher.”

Now Mr Field, who believes the fire started after he left the grill on and fell asleep, is living on microwave meals as his cooker has been completely destroyed and he has been warned not to touch anything in his kitchen.

He said: “I know it could have been a lot worse but it has wiped my kitchen out.

“There is not a lot I can do now though but I'm annoyed that it happened and I'm annoyed that I did what I did.”

n A MAN is recovering today after suffering burns to his upper body after he tried to put out a kitchen blaze at his Suffolk home.

The 47-year-old is understood to have suffered first degree burns to 44 per cent of his body in the blaze in Great Cornard yesterday.

Firefighters were called to the house in Pot Kiln Road just before 6.30pm and smoke and the property was reportedly smoke-logged.

The man who suffered burns had attempted to tackle the blaze in the semi-detached property before crews arrived. Three fire engines were sent to the scene.

Divisional officer Gary Clark, of Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, said: “The fire, which was started through cooking, was in the kitchen of the property and the ground floor and first floor were both smoke logged.

“It was put out relatively quickly. The gentleman had attempted to put the fire out before we arrived and was taken to Colchester General Hospital where he is being treated.”

First degree burns are less serious than second and third degree, affecting only the outer layer of the skin.