Maria Charalambous is being hailed a hero after saving her husband, Nick, from a devastating house fire that destroyed their Bonnyrigg Heights home in Sydney’s south-west early Tuesday morning, June 1.
The blaze broke out around 4:30am in the bedroom where 82-year-old Nick was sleeping. Maria, 68, was in the shower at the time and acted quickly to rescue him.
“I pulled his legs and said, ‘come on, come on, wake up there is a fire’,” she told 9News. “Burned… I don’t know how I survived.”
Wrapped only in a blanket, Maria managed to escape with Nick. Tragically, two of their seven dogs — a five-year-old named Sophie and a 10-day-old puppy — died in the fire.
Fire investigators believe the blaze was caused by an electric heater plugged into a wall socket. Nick revealed that he had removed the batteries from the home’s only smoke alarm about 10 years ago due to persistent beeping.
Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry called it “a really lucky escape” and credited Maria’s alertness for saving their lives.
Source: 9News.
