A MAN risked his life to save his beloved dog from a burning building.

Martin Blunden, 49, and his elderly mother are lucky to be alive after a fire engulfed their Colehill bungalow on Saturday.

But after getting his 82-year-old mum Yvonne Blunden to safety, Mr Blunden turned on his heels and went back in to save Sparkey, a 12-year-old Jack Russell.

The dash left him suffering from smoke inhalation, and paramedics rushed him to Poole General Hospital for an overnight stay.

Mr Blunden, of Lonnen Road, said: “At around 11pm I was just getting into bed when I heard a couple of crackles up in the roof.

“I thank God I was here actually and could help mum out.

“When we got outside the neighbours said they’d got our dog – but they only had one, Trix. Sparks was nowhere to be seen.

“I couldn’t bear to lose him, so I went back in and there he was, sitting on the sofa. The fire was really raging and smoke was rolling through the corridors by then.

“I guess I was a fool but I couldn’t just leave him.”

It took more than 30 firefighters until nearly 3am to get the blaze under control, stripping off the roof tiles and using hose reel jets to put out the flames.

The ceiling has collapsed in at least two of the rooms, the roof is destroyed and 80 per cent of the ground floor is ruined.

The Blundens have lost virtually all their belongings, except for a few clothes. Mr Blunden, a builder, has lived in the bungalow all his life. His late father built the house in the 1950s.

Fire investigation officer Andy Fox visited the damaged property yesterday.

He said he believed the fire was caused by an electrical fault.

He said: “We always recommend the motto: ‘Get out, stay out, get us out’.

“If Mr Blunden had become trapped looking for his dog, firefighters would have got a double rescue on their hands.”

The bungalow did not have a smoke alarm.

Mr Fox said: “Although an alarm would not have made any difference in this instance, as the fire was in the roof space, we would always recommend people have a working alarm.”