A FIRE chief today warned people not to risk their lives for their pets after a man had to be rescued from his burning house as he tried to save his pet kitten.

Steven Cragg, 34, of Hirst Street, Burnley, collapsed unconscious in the upstairs bedroom of the terraced house after dashing back into the building when he realised the cat was still inside.

He was pulled free by firefighters and given oxygen at the scene before being taken to Burnley General Hospital for a check.

The kitten is believed to have escaped the blaze unharmed.

The fire broke out in the kitchen of the house when a burning pan melted the plastic sink and set fire to kitchen units. Smoke soon spread through the rest of the house.

Station Officer Steve Cope, of Burnley fire station's Greenwatch, who attended the blaze, said: "Mr Cragg appears to have gone back into the house to try and find his cat but became overcome with the smoke fumes and fell unconscious in the bedroom.

"We made a search of the house and found him upstairs and pulled him out.

"He is lucky to be alive as it only takes seconds to die after inhaling smoke. If we had been out on another job before this one then he probably would have died.

"If people are involved in a house fire they should get out of the property and stay out. Risking your life for a pet is not something that people should even think about."