Kitchener, Ont. firefighter Nick Dorken. (Submitted Photo)

WOODSTOCK, Ont. — A southwestern Ontario firefighter helped save the life of an unconscious man in a burning wreck while on a family vacation in Florida early Thursday.

Nick Dorken, 28, a firefighter in Kitchener, Ont., pulled the man from the burning car at about 2 a.m., while travelling back from Disney World with his wife and two-year-old daughter, he said on the phone from Fort Myers.

His wife, Kim, ran to a nearby gas station to call 911.

“When I approached I was thinking oh man what do I have to pull him out of this," the Innerkip, Ont., native said.

Nick Dorken, 28, works with a paramedic to stabilize a man he pulled from a burning car while vacationing in Fort Myers. (Submitted Photo)

"The seat was on fire. The impact basically ripped the entire floor and bottom half of the vehicle off,” he said.

A breeze sent the smoke travelling the other way long enough for Dorken to drag the man, he estimated to be in his 30s, to safety.

“So many things had to fall in place for it to work out the way it did. If I had been another 30 seconds later he would have been gone,” he said.

He said he doesn't consider himself a hero, just a guy with the right training who was at the right place at the right time.

“The funniest thing is my daughter slept through the whole thing,” he said with a laugh.

The man was not seriously injured.

Fort Myers police are investigating the cause of the single vehicle crash.

Since news of Dorken’s heroic efforts broke, he’s received calls from newspapers and major TV networks all across Canada and the U.S.

The six-year firefighter finds all the fuss unusual.

“It’s almost like I need a news agent,” he said.

Dorken and his family are continuing their vacation and plan to be in Fort Myers until next Wednesday. He hopes it’s quiet from this point forward, but said he wouldn’t hesitate to help anyone.

“It’s just the right thing to do,” he said.

tbowie@bowesnet.com