HE RAN INTO THE BURNING HOUSE… THEN DISAPPEARED..! – MYSTERY GOOD SAMARITAN HAILED A HERO AFTER HELPING SAVE FIVE CHILDREN FROM A DEVASTATING FIRE.
Neighbours smashed windows and fought the flames as a stranger ran inside the blazing property.
Mystery hero rescues five children from Stanthorpe house fire
A mystery Good Samaritan is being hailed a hero after repeatedly running into a smoke-filled home to rescue five young children trapped inside as flames tore through the property.
Emergency crews were called to a home on Leslie Pde in Stanthorpe, about three hours south-west of Brisbane, at 8.41am on Wednesday after reports a fire had broken out.
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The 26-year-old mother jumped from the second storey of the home, injuring her arm, while her five children, including triplets aged three and their siblings aged four and five, remained trapped inside.
As the family screamed for help, an 80-year-old neighbour rushed over after hearing the children crying out.
Another neighbour grabbed a shovel and smashed a window, but thick smoke continued to pour from the home.
“An 80-year-old fella came over when he heard the kids screaming,” Reverend Peter Evans told 7NEWS.
A passing stranger then repeatedly ran upstairs through the smoke, rescuing each child one by one.
“He went up the stairs five times and brought all five of the kids down and saved their lives, I think,” Evans said.
The elderly neighbour then used a garden hose to help contain the blaze until firefighters arrived.
“Another two minutes and the whole house would have gone, “Evans said. “They are extremely lucky.”
The Queensland Fire Department said the fire had started in the central stairwell of a two-storey brick house, with the blaze contained to the staircase thanks to the quick actions of the neighbours before firefighters arrived.
Fire crews later removed part of the roof of the building.
Paramedics treated the five young children at the scene before they were rushed to Stanthorpe Hospital. Their conditions are still unknown.
The woman was treated for an arm injury and smoke inhalation, and the 80-year-old man was also treated for smoke inhalation.
They were both taken to Stanthorpe Hospital.
It is understood one of the injured has been airlifted to hospital in Brisbane for further treatment.
The fire crews remained on scene extinguishing hot spots before fire investigators were tasked with determining the cause of the blaze.
The passer-by, believed to be a man in his 40s and wearing a white hat, left before emergency services arrived.
Authorities are now hoping to identify him so they can thank him for saving five young lives.
