Karen Neale and Ann Clarke sprang into action after the smoke alarm sounded at Beck View sheltered accommodation in Hala at 8.10am on Tuesday.

They entered the smoke-filled flat of David Pettifer, 69, who they found conscious but engulfed in flames. It is believed he had been smoking in bed.

Warden Lindsay Kyle called the emergency services as the quick-thinking pair grabbed wet towels, tea towels and cushions which they used to smother the flames.

Paramedics arrived and gave Mr Pettifer oxygen before helping him into his wheelchair and taking him to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary with burns to the top half of his body.

He was transferred to the burns unit at the Royal Preston Hospital later that day.

Mr Pettifer was described as "very poorly but comfortable" as the Lancaster Guardian went to press and was today (Friday) due to undergo surgery.

He had been in a leg brace having broken his leg seven weeks earlier.

Ann, 57, of Balmoral Road, Lancaster, said: "He was on fire from his waist upwards – mainly his arms and his chest – and he was motionless.

I think he was in shock; there was a lot of smoke and he didn't really know what to do. How his clothes were still attached to him I'm not sure."

Karen, 50, of Grosvenor Park, Morecambe, said: "It was a shock seeing someone like that. It all happened quite quickly. We have had training to deal with fires and it was a combination of that and thinking on our feet.

"There was no panic whatsoever and it was only later that night we thought about what we had done."

Martin McHugh, managing director of Care Watch, which provides care services at Beck View, said: "I'm immensely proud of Karen and Ann as I am the whole of the team and it's an absolute credit to them that they've probably saved this man's life."

Cora O'Brien, who lives in another of the 34 flats and is a friend of Mr Pettifer's, said: "I was shocked and sad to hear what had happened and I am hoping he pulls through. The carers did a wonderful job."