Perth,
Western Australia
(Old Edition)
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Family's cool helps save home from fire
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In fact, John's wife's car was on fire and flames were licking the ceiling of the garage, which was attached to their 18-month-old home. Police said the family had been the victim of theft and an arson attack. "I went downstairs to turn the light off and as I was walking I thought 'Gee that light was orange, it should be white'," John said. "I thought then that there might be a fire, and when I opened the door to the garage, it was going ballistic, I shut the door again and woke everyone up." In the frantic few minutes that followed, John's wife Sally and their children David (18), Adelle (16) and Christian (11) ran outside and stood on the lawn as John used a fire extinguisher to try to reduce the blaze inside the Ford Capri. He used a garden hose on the ceiling of the garage. He then reversed the family's other car, a Commodore, out of the garage so it would not catch fire, though there is extensive heat damage down one side of it. John is a commercial pilot with Maroomba Airlines and said the company's extensive emergency training probably helped him during the crisis. "They just teach you to assess the situation quickly and take action," he said. John said it also helped that he remembered the advice of family friends whose home burnt to the ground in Carine a few years ago. They had told him that, once the ceiling rafters caught fire, the blaze was unstoppable. "I just kept spraying the rafters in the garage with the garden hose because they are attached to the rest of the house and I knew that if they caught fire, the whole house could go," he said. John said a fire and rescue crew from Daglish arrived within six minutes of being called and put the car fire out immediately. The Capri is destroyed, the Commodore is damaged and the house has some smoke and fire damage. "I am very happy that I didn't lose my family or my home," John said. Stirling Police say a 15-year-old Churchlands boy had stolen from the Ryans' Ford Capri before setting it on fire. They allege the boy then went to carpark 5 at Edith Cowan University's Churchlands campus, where he stole from a car then set it on fire at about 2.50am. They say fire and rescue workers and university security staff detained the boy until they arrived to arrest him. The boy has been charged with two counts of stealing, two counts of criminal damage by fire and has been released on bail to appear in the Perth Children's Court on Tuesday.
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