Instinct kicked in when Craig Irving was woken in the early hours of Saturday morning by the sound of a smoke alarm.
He dashed from his bed to the fire in Surrone Gardens and dragged the occupant of the blazing house to safety.
Recalling events, Craig said: “At about 1.30 am my wife Beverley heard an alarm, I thought it was my son watching a film in his bedroom, I never thought more of it but she got up. She opened the blind and saw the flames, which were quite intense.
“She woke me and I ran downstairs and across the street, pulling my shoes on.”
Arriving at the single storey property, he could see flames engulfing the front door and hallway and said: “The fire was well alight at this point. My wife called the fire brigade.
“I noticed the bedroom window was open and the man was on his knees
inside, he was struggling to breath.”
Craig had to twist and break the window to pull it off, cutting his hands in the process.
Describing it all as ‘a bit of blur’, he added: “I leaned right over the windowsill and had to pick him up and haul him out.
“His bedroom was full of smoke. It was so thick and black, I had to put my t-shirt over my nose.
“Really quickly I pulled him out onto the grass, he was coughing a lot.”
After checking there were no other occupants, dad-of-two Craig then alerted the neighbours on both sides and got them out of their houses and also moved their vehicles out of the way.
At this point four fire engines arrived, along with police and an ambulance crew.
Craig said: “There was no door left, it had happened so quickly.
“It went up so quick.”
Modest about his life saving actions, he added: “Instinct kicked in, anybody would have done the same.
“It was nice to be in the right place at the right time. It is fortunate I was there.
“If my wife did not get up and see it, it could have been a very different story. The guy was very appreciative.”
Craig finally got back to bed at 4.30 am and woke up the next morning to see the gutted house all boarded up. He said: “It was a sad sight to see. It was surreal, but anybody would have done the same.”
Despite his modesty, he has been widely praised for his actions and the fire chief even suggested he join the service.
But the dad-of-two says he is happy with his day job as a full time piper.
Meanwhile, a Police Scotland spokesman said: “Officers were alerted to a house fire in Surrone Gardens in Gretna around 1.15am on Saturday, 27 February, 2021.
“A 58-year-old man was taken to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary with smoke inhalation. The fire was extinguished by the Fire and Rescue Service.”
