A 41-YEAR-old man escaped from a first floor window when his living room went up in smoke.

The man, who had been upstairs, smashed a window with a portable heater and climbed onto a flat roof before jumping down.

Two fire crews from Nelson and one from Burnley were called to Vernon Street, Nelson, around 3am this morning.

Firefighters discovered the fire started in the front room on a sofa.

They are investigating the cause of the fire.

The man was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital as a precaution with minor cuts to his face caused during his escape.