A hero teenager has been praised for rescuing his six-month-old sister from their Staffordshire home when a fire broke out. Riley Anderson saved young Piper Bain when a power bank overloaded in the property, causing smoke everywhere.
Quick Actions Prevent Tragedy
Stepdad Mitchell Bain said: 'I was out of the house at the time. My partner was in the kitchen with my stepson Riley. Our bedroom is downstairs in the room next door. Inside, an expensive power pack that was charging just exploded.' Riley rushed into the room because he heard a sound he did not recognise. He saw the power pack hissing, spitting and smoking everywhere. His six-month-old daughter was lying down in the room. He did not hesitate. He just acted.
He grabbed his sister up and shouted 'fire' at the top of his lungs before telling everyone to get out of the house. He practically pushed his other nine-year-old sister out of the door. Once he was outside, he would not let his baby sister go. He just kept hold of her and made sure she was okay.
Family Praise for Heroic Teen
Mitchell added: 'My wife was a superstar too. She acted quickly to stop the fire spreading. She closed all the downstairs doors to keep it contained before the fire service could deal with it. There has been some smoke damage, but nothing too crazy.' The incident took place in Novi Lane, Leek, at about 8.30am on Thursday, April 16. The family-of-seven have had to live in temporary accommodation following the fire.
Thanks to Riley's quick thinking, nobody was harmed. Mitchell said: 'In my opinion, he is nothing short of a hero. If he had not stepped up, things could have turned out very differently. That was a lithium fire and the poisonous smoke could have killed my little girl. He might struggle with his conditions but he can still save lives. On a day-to-day basis, he can get overwhelmed. He overthinks things and panics about stuff. But not this time. He just knew what he needed to do. It was like his instinct just kicked in and he saved his sister.'
Community Recognition Sought
Riley's parents are calling on the community to congratulate the teenager, who has autism and ADHD, for his heroism. Mitchell added: 'I think he needs some recognition for what he has done. I just want the world to know about it. I have rung the school board, I have rung the papers, I have told the neighbours. Me and his mum are just mega proud. We both gave him the biggest hug afterwards. He really deserves to get a bit of praise for stepping up to the plate like he did and saving his sister's life.'
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was called to the incident. A fire service spokesman said: 'We were called to a house on Novi Lane following reports of a house fire. Two appliances attended the scene and found that a power bank had caught fire in the dining room. The fire was extinguished using a hose reel jet and thankfully, nobody was reported injured. Crews returned to the house at around 1pm on the same day to check for hotspots and carry out a safe and well check.'
