A FIRE chief today spoke of the terrifying moment he and five colleagues found themselves seconds away from death after they broke into a flat to rescue a man.

Fire crews were called to the flat in Dunoon Street, Burnley, at 9.45pm yesterday after neighbours reported a smell of smoke and said they feared someone was trapped inside.

But after breaking in and dealing with the smoke-logged flat firefighters searched for the owner but found to their horror they had been lured into a trap.

A lighted candle and an oven pumping out gas had been left in a deliberate attempt to blow up the flat which firefighters say could have cost them and nearby residents their lives.

One man was later arrested and was due to be quizzed by detectives today.

Station Officer Steve Cope said: "What appeared to be a fairly routine call turned into a potential timebomb just waiting to blow up and the six firefighters who were in that flat could easily have died. It could have gone up at any time.

"It appears that someone had left the candle and the oven on either as a deliberate trap for us or the neighbours, but either way this was a very sinister and worrying incident."

Station Officer Cope said the trap had been discovered when fire crews carried out a second search of the flat, found the lighted candle and then smelled gas pumping from the oven.

He added: "We expect to be put in risky situations as part of the job but this incident put the lives of myself, five colleagues and the neighbours in serious danger and was an incredibly dangerous thing to do."

A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "This is a real shock. I was in listening to music when I heard alot of banging coming from upstairs, but I don't know anything apart from that.

"Thankfully nobody was injured or killed."

DS Steve Mounsey, of Burnley CID, said: "There was a fire at an address in Dunoon Street which is being treated as suspicious and officers are due to visit the scene today to carry out further forensic examination of the flat."

A 46-year-old local man has been arrested and is currently in custody at Burnley Police Station where he was due to be questioned today.