A 25-year-old Canadian tourist ignited an unorthodox rescue scenario after getting stranded on a remote island in Norway last week.

The man, whose identity has not been revealed, broke his foot while camping on the island of Hillesoy and became stranded. According to the paper Nordlys, the man attempted to send out smoke signals to alert rescuers. However, his efforts took on a life of their own, reportedly engulfing a large part of the island's foliage in flames.

"He lay there for three days waiting to be discovered but on the third day ... he realized he had to do something himself," said Joran Bugge, who led the police rescue operation.

It eventually took 20 firefighters and two army helicopters to put out the blaze, which reportedly grew out of control after the lost camper's attempted smoke signals engulfed his tent in flames.

"It's illegal to start this kind of fire, but in this case the police aren't going to take any action," Bugge said.