SCHOOL holidays are usually full of fun and adventure, but for one Allanson family it almost included tragedy.
Mates Zac Conway, 16, and Sean Myles, 14, were working on a motorcycle in the shed, while Zac’s Aunty Beth* set up a movie screen - as a surprise for the 12 kids who were sleeping over.
The shed has a fireplace, which Beth decided to make use of.
“It was getting cold – about 8.30pm - and she wanted warm the shed up a little I think,” Zac said.
Deviating from how the fire is normally lit, Beth poured some fuel in, to supposedly speed up the process.
What she hadn’t realised was that there were still hot coals burning in the back of the fire place.
“We heard a scream and tuned to see Zac’s Aunty on fire,” Sean said.
“It all happened so fast, it was like the fire jumped in the air straight on her.”
The flame had spread straight up Beth’s arm causing her to stumble backwards, knocking over a jerry can of petrol in the process.
Zac reacted the fastest, rushing over to put the fire out.
“My instincts just kicked in,” he said.
“I just grabbed her away from the fuel and tried to put her out.
“Her legs and her back were on fire and her clothes had melted.”
After getting Beth to safety, the boys turned their attention to the spreading fire.
They initially made the mistake of trying to put the fuel out with water.
“We quickly realised that the water was spreading the fuel and not helping,” Sean said.
“So we grabbed the buckets and started using sand.”
Meanwhile, Mum Laina Evans had been asleep on the couch in the house and was woken by one of the children.
“The kids came running to tell me there was a fire in the shed,” she said.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening and rang triple-zero.
“The lady asked if I wanted police, fire or ambulance – I said all three!”
“I panicked, but the kids were really calm under pressure.”
By the time the emergency services arrived, Zac and Sean had managed to put out the fire.
Ms Evans was relieved Zac had been able to cope so well under pressure.
“Zac has that special quality where when there is an intense situation he remains really calm,” she said.
“He really took control of the situation and made sure everyone was safe before tackling the fire.”
Aunty Beth received burns of varying degrees across her body, while Zac was treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns.
“It could have been so much worse,” Ms Evans said.
“It was lucky the kids were in the house having dinner and not in the shed.
“If Zac and Sean hadn’t been there when Beth was lighting the fire, she wouldn’t have made it.”
While the boys knew how close they came to tragedy, they don’t like being labelled ‘heroes’.
“You just do what you have to do,” Zac said.
“Some nights I just lay in bed replaying the whole event in my mind.
“It’s scary how close we came to someone dying.
“I just knew I had to get the fire out.”
*Named changed to protect identity.
