AN ELDERLY Tamworth couple have had a miraculous escape from their burning home, after the boy they used to babysit saved them from the inferno.
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Nathan Constable didn’t think twice before he ran into the Warren St home about 6.30pm Monday, as flames were leaping from the windows and smoke was billowing into the air.
He knew his elderly neighbours, Edna and Laurie, both aged in their 80s, were home, because it was dinner time.
“I just ran straight in the front door. There was smoke and flames coming from the house, and I just yelled straight out to Edna,” he told The Leader.
“I heard her but I couldn’t see her, and she was talking back to me, so I eventually found her. She was trying to find her way out, so I helped her the rest of the way and took her outside.
“I asked her where Laurie was, and she said he was around the back. I sprinted round the back of the house, but the gate was locked. I could see him, he was trying to put the fire out with a garden hose, because he was trying to get to Edna inside.”
Nathan, 25, helped his neighbour to safety and reunited the couple, who both suffered burns during the frightening ordeal.
It was nothing special. You know, if it wasn’t me, it would have been the bloke across the road.
- Nathan Constable
He said another neighbour initially raised the alarm, banging on the door for help, before he told his fiancee to call the fire brigade as he ran out the door.
“Laurie and Edna used to babysit me, so I’ve know them since I was born. They’ve lived there forever,” he said, adding he didn’t think twice about his efforts.
“It was pretty scary. I never thought that would happen in my life. It was pretty intense.”
The fire, which started at the back, engulfed the brick-and-tile home within minutes. Some witnesses reported seeing flames leaping into the air from blocks away.
Several firefighters managed to get a handle on the fire quickly and prevent it from spreading to nearby homes, before extinguishing it just after 7pm.
The elderly couple were treated by ambulance paramedics for burns to their arms and hands and were taken to Tamworth hospital in a stable condition.
Nathan was also taken to hospital and released about 4am Tuesday, after suffering from smoke inhalation.
The fire destroyed much of the house. The couple returned to the home to see what they could salvage on Tuesday.
“I didn’t really think, I just heard people calling out ‘Fire!’ And when I saw it, I just ran straight in, because I knew they were in there,” Nathan said, brushing off any hero remarks.
“It was nothing special. You know, if it wasn’t me, it would have been the bloke across the road.”
Police have confirmed the fire wasn’t suspicious and was believed to have started in the fireplace and spread quickly to the roof.
