Firefighters, called to the scene around 1.15 am, found the stairwell full of smoke and occupants in the rest of the tenement were told to stay by windows while they tackled the blaze.

The man, who needed medication which was inside the flat, was taken to Ninewells Hospital but was later allowed away.

A large part of the living-room was destroyed in the fire and the remainder of the flat was smoke-damaged.

Macalpine Road station officer Robert Butter said the smoke alarm may have saved the man’s life.

Firefighters said the blaze may have been caused by careless disposal of smoking materials.

Mr Butter said, “It is important that people are extra careful when disposing of smoking materials and checking that everything is switched off at night.

“The occupier of the flat was asleep and may not have woken up. It was quite a serious fire — his smoke alarm may have saved his life.”

Station Officer Butter said that after the fatal Albert Street fire last month, officers have placed a greater importance on getting the fire safety message across to people in tenements.

He said, “We have always promoted a fire safety message to people in flats but the Albert Street fire last month brought this to the fore.

“After this latest fire, we distributed fire safety leaflets through the doors of every flat in the building. These give advice, like not leaving rubbish in a building’s close, and also state that Tayside Fire and Rescue will fit a smoke alarm free. These leaflets will also be distributed to other flats in the area.”

Later, a burnt out sofa lay outside the tenement and the flat’s windows were boarded up.

A neighbour said, “Firefighters told everyone in the building to stay inside their flat. There was a lot of smoke in the stairwell because a sofa was on fire.”