Ajman: A Syrian teenager has earned praise and gratitude for rescuing a family, including two children, from a house fire in Ajman last week.
Mohammad Hamad, 17, was leaving his house in Al Rawdha 2 area at around 2pm last Wednesday when he saw a nearby house engulfed in smoke.
He rushed to investigate and knocked on the front door several times. When he got no response, Hamad rushed to the back where he found two children placed on the compound wall and several others, including their parents, trying to rush out of the house.
Hamad took the children — a boy aged one and a girl aged three — to his house and kept them with his family. He alerted the Ajman Civil Defence and then rushed back to the burning house with his father to help the rest of the people till firefighters arrived.
“The house was engulfed in smoke and fire. It was a terrible sight,” Hamad told Gulf News.
Firefighters arrived on the scene and contained the fire before it could spread to a nearby electricity substation.
An elderly man and a girl who were trapped in the house are being treated for smoke inhalation at Al Qasimi Hospital.
There were eight people, all Afghans, in the house when the fire started in a bedroom on the second floor. An investigation has been launched to find out the cause.
First-responders said the incident could have turned tragic had Hamad failed to alert authorities quickly.
Marwan Yousuf Al Shamsi, an officer at Al Jurf Civil Defence station, said they received a call from Hamad, who expertly directed them to the location, helping them contain the fire quickly.
The head of the affected family thanked Hamad and the Civil Defence team and said he intends to reward Hamad for his efforts.
