TWO young boys have won the praise of firefighters after raising the alarm in a Hunter Valley house fire that broke out early last Wednesday evening.
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Firefighters said the brothers managed to protect their parents and save their home after a clothes dryer caught alight in the laundry of their Muswellbrook home at approximately 6.30pm.
Smoke alarms went off in the Jeans Street address, but did little to rouse the boys' father, 29, as he was wearing headphones while playing video games at the time.
The two children, four and nine, evacuated in line with the Fire and Rescue NSW advice they had received at school, making their parents aware of the danger.
The entire family was able to rush outside to safety, firefighters said, with the boys' father opening the laundry door and kicking the burning appliance out of the house.
Muswellbrook and Aberdeen fire crews attended quickly, treating the 29-year-old man for smoke inhalation at the scene.
The children also received attention for minor exposure to the smoke that had filled the house. Firefighters used extraction fans to ventilate the property, extinguishing the burning dryer.
Muswellbrook Fire and Rescue NSW captain Ian Boyle said the boys had averted a disaster with their quick thinking and actions.
"They realised they needed to alert the adults about the fire breaking out and make their way to safety," Captain Boyle said.
"Without the intervention of those children, that fire would have spread and threatened the lives of everyone.
"These boys are to be congratulated for their actions, they listened to the FRNSW advice at school and have ultimately saved the day."
The exact cause of the ignition in the dryer is yet to be determined, but Fire and Rescue NSW said lint build-up in the appliances is generally a common cause of house fires.
The dramatic Muswellbrook near-miss follows a blown-over candle sparking a blaze in a Merewether, Newcastle home last weekend.