Quick-thinking 10-year-old saves sister in caravan fire

A ten-year-old boy proved to be a quick thinker when he saved his sister from a blaze engulfing the family caravan in Prixford, Devon.

Jared Brokenshire and his three-year-old sister Amy were playing in one of the two caravans owned by the family, where the Brokenshires were living while dad Mike carried out renovations on the family home.

After the power failed in the caravan Jared and Amy were playing in, Jared looked out of the window to see smoke pouring from the other van.

‘The power went off and there was a whistling noise,’ Jared said.

‘I looked out the window because I was curious and I saw smoke, lots of smoke. I told Amy to leave the computer, put her shoes on and told her we needed to see daddy.’

Mike was able to remove a gas barbecue and gas bottle from the caravan before the fire took full hold, preventing an explosion. But by the time fire engines arrived on the scene from Barnstaple a few minutes later, both caravans had been engulfed in flames.

Mike was later treated for minor burns to his head and neck.

Jared said: ‘I was scared but knew I had to get me and Amy out and get help, so I stayed calm because that is what I had learnt at Cubs when they took us to Barnstaple fire station for our fire safety.’

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said later that the fire was caused by an electrical fault.