Young hero saves brother from fire

Ten–year-old Téa Robinson is being hailed a hero for saving her younger brother, two-year- old Tuxton, from a house fire at their family home in Wee Waa on Wednesday morning.

“It’s nothing short of a miracle,” said firefighter Todd Cowan.

“Her actions were heroic, if she didn’t wake up and react to the smoke alarm we would have been dealing with fatalities,” said Mr Cowan.

“This shows that all the work around smoke alarm campaigns has paid off – the fact a 10 year old kid knew what to do and how to get out of the house safely.

“A home fire safety plan had obviously been put in place in that house – she knew how to get everyone else out and when we arrived, they were standing at the gutter waiting for us.

“She couldn’t have done anything better,” he said.

Mr Cowan said Wee Waa Fire and Rescue crews responded to calls that a house was “well alight” on Mitchell Street in Wee Waa at 6:11am on Wednesday morning.

“There were flames six or seven meters out of the roof,” said Mr Cowan.

“There was thick, dark smoke coming from all windows and doors.”

Téa’s parents Shane and Cherie Robinson said they are incredibly proud of their daughter’s actions.

“I’m lost for words,” Mr Robinson told The Courier.

“Her maturity is beyond her years.

“Especially in this situation because the fire seems to have started at the back left side of the house, she could have panicked because she was just metres from the fire.

“She showed bravery, went into the bedroom and has taken Tuxton out of his cot and gone out the front door.

“Téa told me she was happy that she remembered what she’d learnt,” said Mr Robinson who thinks the fire safety skills Téa has learnt at Pilliga Public School and at home are what helped her

handle the emergency situation.

“Also, if we didn’t have smoke alarms it would be a different story,” added Mr Robinson.

“They’re definitely a lifesaver in this situation.”

Mr Cowan said crews were informed on arrival that all residents had evacuated the property but still conducted several checks.

“As soon as we saw the house, we knew that we had to get crews in, and get them inside as quickly as possible to be able to try and knock the fire down,” said firefighter Todd Cowan.

“If we tried a defensive mode, we wouldn’t have been able to stop it through the roof and out onto the right-hand side of the house.”

Mr Cowan said the fire was burning on the left-hand side of the weatherboard house and crews were concerned the fire could spread to neighbouring properties including the church next door so they had to work hard to contain it.

Wee Waa Fire and Rescue crews were backed up at the Mitchell Street house fire by the Rural Fire Service, Narrabri fire crews and the HAZMAT van because “it was identified pretty much straight away that the house contained asbestos”.

“We closed down the nearby Nurruby childcare centre for the day as well because we didn’t want to risk any airborne asbestos,” said Wee Waa Fire Station Commander Bruce Cowan.

Wee Waa Fire Station Commander Bruce Cowan, who is also an electrician, said he called in Essential Energy to isolate the power so crews could fight the fire from inside the house with water hoses.

“I had a look at the switchboard and everything was melted, all the cables had come down, so you’ve got all these hazards that you have to deal with.”

It took crews about an hour to contain the blaze and while nobody was injured the house could not be saved.

“It’s pretty much totally destroyed,” said Mr Cowan.

“It’s only the outside of the house that’s standing, everything else in the house from the roof right down to the floors has just been burnt out.”

Police officers are still investigating the circumstances and cause of the fire. Police and ambulance officers attended the scene.

Despite losing his family home, Mr Robinson said the situation could have been a lot worse and he wanted to thank everyone who helped and is currently offering the family support.

“I’m truly grateful to the emergency crews,” said Mr Robinson.

“They may think they are just doing their jobs but they are all seen as essential heroes in our wonderful little community.

“The generosity of this community is something you just don’t get in the big cities.”

Commander Bruce Cowan is urging people to check their smoke alarms because this incident clearly demonstrates the critical role alarms play in saving lives.

“We can’t stress enough that you need to have a working smoke alarm,” he said.

“We offer services – so if you see that it’s not working or it’s never worked or if you haven’t got one – let us know.”

Wee Waa Fire and Rescue are also looking for four new recruits.

“In the positions you are not only helping the fire station and the fire services but it’s also helping the community.

“If people have got any questions, please come and ask somebody from the station and we can help them out in every way possible to have the application submitted.”