By Eleanor Wilson
A classroom visit from the Lang Lang Fire Brigade marked a special day for local schoolboy Koby, who was recognised for a special act of bravery on Monday 8 May.
It was April 2022 when parents Caitlin and Sean and their three kids, then six year-old Koby, four year-old Logan and two year-old Ivy lost everything in a house fire in Lang Lang.
“Me and the two boys were home at the time and we just heard a big bang,” Caitlin said of the incident.
While she initially thought the sound could have been the Coonara wood heater, it was Koby who alerted the young family to the fire and took the initiative to leave the house.
“Koby said ‘there’s a fire’ and pointed at the back of the garage and there were flames coming out the back and smoke,” Caitlin said.
The youngster took the initiative to direct his mum and younger brother out of the house, where he waited on the side of the road while CFA crews attended to the scene.
“He was the one that said, ‘Mummy call the fire brigade’, of course I knew to do it, but he really pushed it.”
It was a proud moment for the mum of three, who said she had previously worried her kids wouldn’t be prepared in the event of a fire.
“I was so proud of him…he knew exactly what to do and the fact he took his brother and made sure he got out safe too was great.
“I was frantic talking to everybody from the CFA and Koby just sat patiently on the side of the road, holding onto his brother, telling him it would be okay.”
The family had been in the Lang Lang rental for just five weeks before the fire took place and had packed the family’s trailer in the garage for an Easter getaway just two days prior.
“Koby and Logan lost their motorbikes and all of their push bikes are gone, pretty much everything inside was black and soot damaged,” Caitlin said.
Koby’s dad, Sean, who is a CFA volunteer, said Koby had shown some interest in fire safety prior to the event.
But Koby said it was online fire safety tutorials that helped him in his act of bravery.
“On YouTube I’ve been watching videos about safety and what to do if there’s a fire,” he said.
In a special classroom visit, Koby was presented with a certificate of appreciation for showing bravery during a fire by assistant chief fire officer Jamie Hansen and members of the Lang Lang Fire Brigade.
He said it felt good to be recognised among his classmates for his actions.
Lang Lang Fire Brigade second lieutenant Rocky Baker said she felt it was important that Koby was recognised for his courageous efforts.
“I’m super proud, it’s great to see that the kids know what to do,” she said.
“For a young kid like that to do that, it was pretty good… especially that he opened the shed door and noticed and then shut the door before he went back into the house, it helped to sort of contain it a bit.
“We all rallied behind him, as we do, we’re pretty close like that. We rally behind our guys when times are tough or someone needs something, which was really good.”
It is understood the fire was caused by an electrical fault.
