Cape Girardeau firefighters on Tuesday rescued a 36-year-old man from an apartment fire at 105 S. Spanish.

Assistant Fire Chief Max Jauch said firefighters found the 36-year-old man on the floor near his bed. They believe he was overcome by toxic smoke and gasses while attempting to flee the burning apartment.

The unidentified victim, who never regained consciousness at the scene, was transported by ambulance to Southeast Missouri Hospital. He later was airlifted to the burn unit of St. John's Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis.

Firefighters were called to the apartment building at about 1:55 p.m. Tuesday. When they arrived, smoke was pouring out of an upstairs window.

"The manager didn't know if the tenant was in there or not," said Jauch. "So while we were trying to put the fire out, we were hoping there was no one in there with us."

The man was carried to a rear rooftop of the multi-story apartment building, where firefighters connected him to an oxygen tank. The skin on his chest and arms was bright red, where he suffered burns.

Residents, who were evacuated from their apartments by the landlord, stood nearby and watched emergency medical personnel administer care to the victim.

"I didn't know him," one resident said. "I was asleep in my apartment when someone banged on my door and told me to get out of the building."

Jauch said he was "99 percent sure" the man was smoking in bed and fell asleep.

"The fire was confined to the bedroom, and the mattresses were pretty well burned up," said Jauch. "It didn't take too long to put the fire out."