House burns as boys play with fire
TWO boys almost set fire to their family home yesterday after playing with a lighter in an outdoor garage, police say.
Emmanuel Kei, 4, and his brother, Jedidiah, 6, panicked when a piece of paper they lit burst into flames at their home at Corella St, Kamerunga, about 5pm.
They dropped it under a couch, which was near a lawnmower.
The boys’ sister Annfaith, 16, who was in the back yard with her younger sister, kept a cool head and evacuated the house.
The children headed to their neighbours as Annfaith dialled 000 and called their parents.
She said she smelt smoke and then saw flames coming out of the old couch.
Police spokeswoman Sgt Debbie Colussi said the four children were home alone at the time of the fire.
Parents Paulus and Agnes Kei returned home from work to see fire trucks and police cars outside their home of five years.
While it was a frightening incident, no one was hurt.
Two neighbours armed with a garden hose and fire extinguisher jumped to action as emergency crews headed to the house.
One man, who asked not to be named, said he heard "bang, bang, bang" going off around him as he tried to put the fire out.
The neighbours realised the danger and left as fire crews put the flames out within 20 minutes of arriving.
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Close call: Quick thinking by Annfaith Kei (back left) saved her siblings, Jedidiah, 6, Emmanuel, 4, and Ashler, 11, as a fire took hold at their home. Picture: JAKE NOWAKOWSKI
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