Fire chief praises 2 teens after Richmond Hill fire
Posted September 17, 2013 6:46 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Two teenage brothers made a heroic attempt to rescue an elderly man during a house fire in Richmond Hill on Tuesday morning.
Firefighters eventually rescued the man from his home on Lake Avenue, near Yonge Street and King Road, around 1:45 a.m.
The 70-year-old man was taken to hospital, where he remains in stable condition.
Colten and Luke Rybuck had called 911 and knocked down the front door. But, when the smoke became too thick, they ran out of the house.
They were then taken to hospital to be treated for minor smoke inhalation.
“I think it’s amazing,” fire chief Steve Kraft said.
“We never want people to get injured in a fire but our natural instinct is to assist somebody. They did what they could and then they realized it was too dangerous and they didn’t go any further.”
The brothers said they heard a fire alarm coming from inside the home.
“It was dark, so we figured out which house the smoke was coming from and it was coming from this one window,” Luke, 16, said.
“That’s when we heard someone yelling ‘help.’ I kicked in the front door as my brother called 911.”
The Ontario Fire Marshal’s office is investigating.
The fire does not appear to be suspicious, police say.
The teens will appear on Breakfast Television on Tuesday to talk about their heroic actions.
