Juan Echeveste Alba, 22, of Salt Lake City, and was arrested on Friday for attempted murder and aggravated kidnapping

Firefighters sent out following reports of smoke from the bottom of a canyon in Utah ended up saving a woman from a man who was allegedly trying to hang her from an overpass.

Crews from the Unified Fire Authority had been sent out to Parleys Canyon, in Salt Lake, on July 1 but turned back after failing to find anything.

As they performed a U-Turn their route was blocked by a car on the underpass.

The four-man crew went to investigate what was happening and found a man pulling a rope that was 'strung over a metal pipe with the other end of the rope around a female's neck'.

According to the Salt Lake County Jail report, 'the female was crying and attempting to grab at the rope that was around her neck'.

After the man saw the firemen he bundled the woman into his car and tried to escape.

But the firefighters intercepted and detained him until Utah Highway Patrol troopers arrived at the scene.

The man has been named as Juan Echeveste Alba, 22, of Salt Lake City, and he was arrested for attempted murder and aggravated kidnapping.

The woman was treated for cuts and bruises, but was otherwise unharmed following her ordeal.

Sergeant Randy Riches, from the State Bureau of Investigations, told KSL.com: 'They didn't hesitate. They rushed right in. They're the real heroes in this thing.

Firefighters had initially been dispatched because of reports of smoke from the foot of Parleys Canyon

'Without them, who knows what would have happened to her?