A man assaulted firefighters as crews tried to rescue him from a burning building in Huddersfield.
Police were called after the man in his 50s became violent at the Willow Dene housing complex on Bradford Road in Fartown.
Crews from Huddersfield Fire Station had responded to a 999 call at 9.45pm on Saturday after a cigarette caused a blaze at the supported housing complex.
But the firefighters were hampered in their efforts when one of the 15 residents attacked them.
Huddersfield watch commander Darren Bagley said: "We were attacked by one of the residents which stopped us from doing our job.
"The incident delayed us because the abusive person was inside the building at the time.
"He was attacking our crew commander, who was wearing breathing apparatus.
"It's unusual for us to have to call the police. We get a bit of abuse in this job but to be physically attacked is unusual."
Firefighters eventually persuaded the man to leave the building.
Watch commander Bagley added: "We managed to calm him down before the police arrived. He decided to leave the building."
The fire at the supported housing scheme is believed to have been caused by an unextinguished cigarette.
Watch commander Bagley said: "One of the residents fell asleep and their cigarette fell down the side of the bed."
Firefighters spent an hour at the scene, using two hose reels and two men with breathing apparatus to deal with the incident.
The first floor flat where the fire broke out was gutted in the blaze.
Watch commander Bagley said: "We're going to hold a meeting with the care home owners to discuss their smoking policy."
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