Firefighters rescued a man from a smoke-logged building in Hove late on Wednesday night (25 January).
Two East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service crews from Hove found him when they searched the building – a block of flats – after being called to a kitchen fire in Goldstone Villas.
The fire was out by the time they arrived although the caller who dialled 999 had tried to silence the smoke alarm when it went off. The alarm was in a communal stairwell.
After failing to silence the alarm, the caller had then contacted the alarm company for the flats and had been advised to call the fire brigade.
The caller described a smell of burnt toast.
A spokesman for the fire brigade said: “If you hear a fire alarm sounding, do not attempt to silence it. Its purpose is to alert occupants of a possible fire. Always dial 999.”