A FIREMAN today spoke of his amazing lucky escape after half-a-tonne of masonry fell where he stood in a blazing house.

Carl Jones, 38, was using a hose reel on a fire in the kitchen of an unoccupied house in Windermere Drive, on the Within Grove estate in Huncoat.

One of his colleagues shouted to him from upstairs to step back because he was about to start spraying water near him.

As Carl took one step back, the upstairs wall and ceiling collapsed on to the spot where he had been standing.

He was unscathed, but the hose reel he was using was taken out of his hands and crushed under the debris.

Accrington firefighter Carl said: "It all fell in seconds. You are talking about half-a-tonne of masonry. If I hadn't of stepped back I would have been under it and it would have been instant death.

"At the time I didn't think about that, but it was only on reflection that I realised the debris was where I had been standing.

"I feel relieved. I was very lucky."

Carl returned to work last Friday after a timely week's holiday, which had been arranged before the fire.

Police suspect the blaze was the result of an arson attack. A petrol can was found in the living room.

Ninety minutes before the major blaze, officers had been called to a car fire, where youths taunted them and asked were they wanted the next fire. The subsequent blaze left the house burnt out. Firefighters spent four hours tackling the fire and dampening down.

They have been regularly called to the Within Grove estate recently, as 50 houses in the area are empty and scheduled to be demolished soon.

Carl was furious at the youngsters, who, it appears, put his life at risk. He said: "The actions of persons unknown could have resulted in a death, or murder."