Fort Lauderdale firefighters rescued an unidentified man found unconscious in his burning apartment at 600 Breakers Ave. Tuesday night.
The man, who is handicapped and uses a wheelchair, was rescued at about 7:30 p.m.
He was taken to Broward General Medical Center, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief John Molenda said.
Upstairs neighbor Trevan Blackmer, 29, was with a friend, Craig Barnes, on their balcony when they noticed the fire.
Blackmer said they kicked in the door and used a fire extinguisher to try to put out the blaze while the man was lying in bed.
''It was on fire for a good half an hour before we noticed,'' Barnes said.
They saw the man come home an hour before they smelled the smoke down below.
It took about 10 minutes for firefighters to quell the fire on the ground floor apartment number 3B, which appeared to have started in the man's living room, Molenda said. No other apartments were damaged, and an investigation is ongoing.
''I was scared at the time, but I feel real good actually,'' Barnes said about saving the man's life, adding, ''Everybody here likes him.''
Free-lance photographer R.C. White and CBS4 contributed this report.
Distributed by the Associated Press
