Nurse saves elderly man from burning Melbourne home A passing nurse has saved an elderly man trapped behind the deadlocked front door of his burning

A passing nurse has saved an elderly man trapped behind the deadlocked front door of his burning Melbourne home.

John Bustos was on his way to see a patient about noon (NZT) yesterday when he saw smoke coming from a nearby house in Noble Park.

"I thought it could have been smoke from a barbecue or someone burning off in the backyard but I just wanted to check it out," Mr Bustos told AAP.

He said that when he got to the house he saw smoke pouring from under the front door and crackling noises from inside.

"I started yelling at the front door and trying to kick it open to see if someone was inside and then I heard a man say he couldn't open the door," Mr Bustos said.

"My nursing training kicked in and I told him to make his way to the back door and to stay down low."

Mr Bustos, 32, of Lynbrook in south-east Melbourne, rushed to the back door and pulled the man, known only as Douglas, out of the house.

The Royal District nurse and former coronary care nurse said Douglas, 74, had inhaled a lot of smoke.

"I took him as far as I could from the house and then rang 000 as well as checking his vital signs," Mr Bustos said.

When paramedics arrived they gave the man the all-clear.

But Mr Bustos hadn't finished yet.

He waited to help the man's wife who neighbours said would be in shock when she saw the damage, which fire authorities estimated by $200,000, when she returned home.

"When she came back she did go into shock so I tried to make her as comfortable as I could, make sure she wasn't going to faint and once everything was under control I went off to see my original patient," Mr Bustos said.

Fire officer Barry Nash of the Country Fire Association said that when the firefighters arrived at the scene, the house was totally engulfed in flames.

He said that without Mr Bustos' help, the elderly man would have died.

"It was quick thinking on his part and without (Mr Bustos), the houseowner would not be with us yesterday," Mr Nash said.

He said half the house was gutted by the fire which is believed to have started in the kitchen.

It was believed Douglas and his wife were being cared for by family members.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/4696306a12.html