A young boy has been hailed a hero for saving his brother’s life in a fire involving a mobile phone charger.
Two fire crews attended his home in Elgin after the device, which had been charging overnight, overheated and left his bed in flames.
Ten-year-old Tyler Harrison dashed back into his room to lead his brother Logan, 8, who was asleep on the top of the bunk bed, to safety.
The brave youngster suffered burns to his arm which is in plaster, his back was burned and his hair was singed.
Tyler’s mum Sarah Fegan said last night: “He saved everyone’s life. If we hadn’t registered the smoke alarm then it could have been a lot worse.”
Praising her son’s actions, she added: “It was a selfless act of bravery.”
Firefighters using two Elgin appliances were called to the town’s 40 Barlink Road early yesterday morning.
Miss Fegan, 30, who has five children with her partner Vincent Harrison, said: “About 1.30am the smoke alarm had just started going off and it hadn’t quite registered with me.
“Tyler came running through and said ‘mum, my bed’s on fire’.
“I thought I was dreaming and went running through to find his bed was up in flames. Our priority was to get the kids out.
“I ran back through to my bedroom to get my partner up and got Sienne out of her cot.
“I got two of the boys Ellis and Codi they share the front room, I grabbed them also.
“Whilst I was grabbing them Tyler went back into the bedroom that was on fire to get his brother Logan who was above him on the top bunk.”
Miss Fegan added: “The boys’ dad managed to extinguish it himself but it was still smouldering when the fire brigade arrived.”
She said: “When the fire brigade came Tyler didn’t tell us that he had been burned until he was asked, he was very brave.
“I had to take him to the hairdressers this morning because his hair was singed.”
Speaking about his big brothers bravery Logan said: “Me and Tyler are like twins. I’m really proud of my big brother because I thought he was going to try and get the X-box but I never thought he would get me.”
Mr Harrison said: “No words can describe how proud I am of him.”
Tyler, who attends New Elgin Primary School, yesterday had this advice for other phone users: “Don’t charge it overnight and before you go to sleep unplug it.”
Logan added: “Also give your phone to a parent so that they can keep your phone safe.”
Miss Fegan said the fire service and police were “outstanding – being able to relax the kids and making a joke out of a bad situation which made the kids feel better. Tyler got to sit in the fire engine.”
Fire station manager at Elgin, Shaun Burns said: “The fire was caused by an overheated mobile phone charger which had been left charging on the bed.
“It had overheated to such an extent that the bedding caught fire and caused burn injuries to the young boy in the room.”
He added: “This incident had the potential to be even more serious and we can’t stress enough how important it is to unplug mobile chargers before you go to bed.
“We would advise unplugging any such electrical item overnight and even when charging phones or other devices during the day, don’t leave them on top of any kind of material or near flammable surfaces.”