Two young children are being praised for their quick-thinking, after a fire took hold at a Muswellbrook home earlier this week.
Fire and Rescue crews were called to the home on Jeans Street on Wednesday evening, where a clothes dryer had caught alight.
They say smoke alarms did sound, but a 29-year-old man was wearing earphones as he was playing a video game and didn’t hear the alert.
The boys, aged four and nine, quickly alerted their parents to the blaze, as per the advice they had received at school by Fire and Rescue.
The family made it outside and the father was able to get the burning dryer outside.
He was treated for smoke inhalation and the children for minor exposure to the smoke that filled the house.
Muswellbrook FRNSW Captain, Ian Boyle, said the boys were situationally aware as their fire education kicked in.
“They realised they needed to alert the adults about the fire breaking out and make their way to safety.
“Without the intervention of those children, that fire would have spread and threatened the lives of everyone.
“These boys are to be congratulated for their actions, they listened to the FRNSW advice at school and have ultimately saved the day,” Captain Boyle said.
Whilst what caused the dryer to catch fire is still being determined, lint build-up in dryers is a common factor in house fires.
Image: Fire and Rescue Muswellbrook