Man dragged from fire by neighbour
An elderly Cannington man is lucky to be alive this morning after he was pulled out of his burning house by a neighbour.
The man and his wife, believed to be in their 80s, were at their Lloyd Street home when it caught fire about 1.30am.
The fire was caused by an electrical fault.
Next door, their neighbour Rick, in his 60s, was roused from his sleep by his cat 'Smokey.'
He awoke to strange noises and an acrid smell, so he got out of bed to investigate.
"If it wasn't for my cat Smokey, the fellow might be dead," Rick said.
The fire caused $250,000 damage
"She came and started tapping me on the head like she does when she's hungry.
"I woke up and I could hear something so I walked over to the window and I could see the flames licking out of the roof.
"My cousin and his girlfriend are staying here at the moment so I said, 'Phone 000 and I'll go next door.'
Knowing the elderly man was not particularly mobile, Rick rushed outside to see if the couple needed help.
By the time he reached the street, the woman was out of the house and it was well and truly going up in flames.
"She was coming across the road and her husband was still inside so I went in and got him," he said.
A next-door neighbour pulled one of the residents from the burning house. Picture: Liam Croy/The West Australian
"I just went in and got hold of him.
"He was in the lounge room and I think he was pretty disorientated.
"He was trying to get to the door with his walking stick."
It is understood the elderly couple built the home several decades ago.
There will be little left to salvage after the blaze, which caused an estimated $250,000 worth of damage, but it could have been worse.
"I got inside the door and it was intense, just flames and heat," Rick said.
"Another 30 seconds and he would have been dead. It was that intense."
There were no reports of injuries.
