This is the dramatic moment a stricken firefighter was rescued after tumbling down a mountainside and breaking his leg as raging forest fires approached.

Thanong Meipor, 42, braved the swearing heat to extinguished the forest fires in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand on Tuesday (April 21) afternoon.

But while he was battling with the flames, he tripped and fell down the slope, injuring his right leg and preventing him from walking.

He radioed for help and rescue workers raced to the scene to give him first aide and carry him down the hill on a stretcher.

Thanongwas rushed to hospital where a doctor diagnosed him with a broke leg.

The director of the forest preservation office, Kriangsak Thanomphan, said that it was an unpleasant accident that should not happen again.

He said: "This is the type of accident that we have never wanted it to happen so I have reiterated to the officers to be more careful during the mission to extinguish the fire."

Forest fires have been ravaging northern Thailand for several weeks. They are believed to have been caused by hunters and foragers who start camp fires while venturing into the woods in search of food.

Dry, windy conditions have also caused them to spread quickly, engulfing thousands of acres since they began.