Neighbours rescue 11-year-old boy from Burnaby condo fire

Don’t overlook the importance of having good neighbours: on Monday night, two men ran into a burning home and saved an 11-year-old boy from the inferno.

The blaze began at about 8:30 p.m. that evening in a closet in the hallway of the Ganis family’s second floor Burnaby condo. According to CTV News, the parents of Dmitri were unable to save him: when they realized there was a fire in their residence, the hallway was already blocked by flames and heavy smoke.

Michael (the caretaker of the building) and Fred (a neighbour) came to the family’s aid when they heard the fire alarm and Dmitri’s parents screaming.

They attempted to use a fire extinguisher, but those efforts were futile due to heavy smoke inside the condo unit.

With limited options to rescue the boy from the inside, the two men resorted to a rescue operation from the building’s exterior.

Michael had access to a 6-foot ladder as he is the caretaker of the building, but it was not tall enough to reach the window of the second floor condo unit. Instead, they used a pair of bolt cutters on the locks of the building contractor’s storage area and retrieved a 20-foot ladder.

By the time firefighters arrived to the scene, Dmitri was already rescued.

Without the help of the two neighbours, the boy might not have survived the fire. He was sent to B.C. Children’s Hospital for smoke inhalation and first and second degree burns to his forehead, cheek and left arm. He was released from hospital care on Friday.

Feature Image: House fire via Shutterstock