A Greek Australian man has been labelled a ‘hero’ by the media and local residents after he assisted in rescuing an elderly resident from a house fire in the Sydney suburb of Kingsgrove.
The elderly man, who was fighting for life last night, was believed to have been caught in his bedroom when the flames broke out.
His flatmate, Matthew Hemphill, carried him out of the house after he had already suffered serious burns. Greek Australian neighbour Peter Skoutelis then arrived at the scene with a hose, spraying water in the house and on the elderly man.
Both men have been labelled as local hero’s.
“I saw a big blaze of fire and I thought ‘I’ve got to do something’, I’ve got to help my neighbours,” Peter told 7 News.
Saving the man’s life, Matthew insisted that he’s not a hero, rather a it was simply a “normal person thing”. Matthew’s neighbour, Mr Skoutelis, thinks differently.
“He’s a very brave man and he’s the hero out of this,” Peter said.
Police are still investigating the cause of the accident, trying to determine if it had possibly been sparked from a cigarette. The elderly man suffered critical injuries from the accident and is to remain in hospital.
“I just hope the man gets better,” Peter concluded.
