A RELUCTANT hero has saved her elderly neighbour after a Friday afternoon cook-up erupted in flames.
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Smoke and the sounds of a fire alarm alerted the neighbour, who wanted to be known only as Karen, to the emergency as she arrived home – feeling relaxed— after a massage.
Seeing flames at the kitchen window and the elderly woman inside, Karen jumped to action – covering the burning stove top with a blanket and escorting the resident outside.
A woman walking her dog past the Skene Street property also gave assistance.
The woman, aged in her 70s, sustained minor burns and was taken to hospital.
“It was very intense,” Karen said. “I raced in and saw her just frozen in shock.”
Karen said she returned inside to contain the flames once the resident was safe.
“(The fire) just got bigger and bigger – it blew up and I flew to the floor,” she said.
But Karen says her actions were just a natural reaction, playing down her quick-thinking which drew praise from firefighters.
“I was just there, like you would be,” she said. “You just see it and go, ‘oh my God there’s a woman in there’. I just went to see if everything was OK – and it wasn’t.
“I just did what I needed to do to contain the situation.”
Firefighter Sam Bullock performed his own heroic act, saving the resident’s cat trapped in a rear room.
The cat is recovering from its ordeal with a neighbour.
Warrnambool Fire Station senior station officer David Ferguson said firefighters and two trucks responded about 3.50pm and administered first aid before paramedics arrived.
Damage was contained to the kitchen. Mr Ferguson said the fire was a timely reminder of the importance of working smoke alarms.