A 10-YEAR-old boy won praise from firefighters after he whisked his younger brother and sister to safety when a fire broke out in the kitchen.

Daniel Sagar spotted smoke pouring under the kitchen door of the home he shares with his mother, two sisters and baby brother in Whalley New Road, Blackburn.

His mum Vicky Coughlin had been baking with two-year-old Bella but had gone upstairs to attend to 11-month-old son Alexander.

Bella went into the kitchen and threw her blanket on top of the hob, unaware the electric ring was heating up. The smoke alarms didn’t go off as only a small amount of smoke was escaping through the closed door.

Crew manager Lee Cook said: “Daniel remembered his fire safety talk from school and his actions displayed courage and common sense.”

But he reminded people of the fire service’s advice to leave a property on discovering a fire.

Daniel, a pupil at The Redeemer Primary School in Jack Walker Way, said: “I saw the smoke and took Bella upstairs to where my brother was.

“I put rolled up sheets under the door so the smoke couldn’t get in and I opened the windows.

“It was a bit scary but I wasn’t frightened. I just wanted to look after my brother and sister.”

Vicky got the blanket outside, preventing much damage to the house.

She added: “He’s my little hero. I was so proud and impressed he’d remembered all of his training.”

At the same time, engines were called from Accrington and Blackburn to a ‘deliberate’ bonfire in Pleasington.

Mr Cook urged people not to light bonfires or rubbish fires, as they could prevent crews attending genuine emergencies, like the one at the family’s home.