An off-duty police officer rescued a middle-aged man from a burning home on Thursday afternoon.

Steinbach RCMP Corporal Mike Martens was driving near Clearsprings Road northeast of Steinbach when he noticed smoke coming from a mobile home. After ensuring 911 had been notified, Martens pulled into the driveway and then spotted an individual inside the porch.

Martens approached the home, and that is when the resident noticed him. But, he had trouble getting up and stumbled around.

"(I) ended up just helping him out of there, getting into my vehicle safe and sound and out to the roadway," recalls Martens. "It was probably within ten minutes the trailer was basically fully engulfed."

Martens says he is not sure what caused the man to stumble, noting he seemed quite groggy.

"I found out later that he did have some burns on him, on his upper body, head area, that I wasn't aware of," Martens says.

He thinks it was probably the shock from the situation that forced him to stumble, but adds it could also have been smoke inhalation that caused him to be disoriented. And there is no way of knowing what would have happened to the individual had Martens not arrived when he did.

"There is always a chance that it could have been a fatality there but hard to say," he says. "That's a question you can always ask."

Martens adds he does not know the state of mind of the resident, noting he seemed afraid of the situation and not really wanting to leave. He adds there were no other individuals or pets inside the home at the time of the fire.

The mobile home is a total loss. The Office of the Fire Commissioner is investigating the cause.