The incident, at midnight on Tuesday, prompted firefighters to warn the public against the practice of leaving washing near heaters or fireplaces.

Wodonga station officer Ian Lilley said the man suffered minor burns putting out the flames from his clothes.

“Fires involving clothing made from nylon or polyester can become very bad, very quickly,” he said.

The man was taken to hospital by ambulance.

Damage from the fire was confined to the man’s clothes.

Mr Lilley said the incident was a reminder not to put clothing or other material too close to an open flame or heater.

“People try to speed up the drying time up by placing washing closer to a heat source,” Mr Lilley said.

“This is a very dangerous practice.

“It doesn’t take much for clothing to catch fire.”

He said that clothing racks should be left no closer than a metre to the heat source.