Former Adelaide MP, 84, recovering after blaze in his apartment

Former Hawke government minister Chris Hurford is recovering from smoke inhalation after a fire in his North Adelaide apartment.

Fire crews were called to the six-storey building on Jeffcott Street just after midnight on Thursday.

The 84-year-old managed to extinguish the flames before crews arrived but he was overcome by smoke.

Mr Hurford was a federal Labor MP for Adelaide between 1969 and1987.

An electrical fault is being blamed for the blaze, which forced the brief evacuation of all 18 units in the block.