Teen saves Melbourne family from fire

A Melbourne family has praised a teenage girl for saving their lives after a fire
broke out as they slept inside their home.
The 19-year-old had been driving to work in the city's north early on Saturday
morning when she spotted smoke and flames shooting out of the back of a Hadfield
house.
Rhiannon Howden immediately called triple-zero on her mobile phone but saw the fire
was growing in the weatherboard home quite quickly.
"I started banging and kicking on the door to wake the people up," she told the Nine
Network. "They were all still in bed."
Three adults and two children were awakened from the teenager's noise and ran out of
the single-storey home just before 6am (AEST).
"The whole back room was on fire," said one resident through her tears. "I tried to
get buckets of water from the tap, but it was just going."
Bob Randall said he was still in his underwear when he ran out in to the street and
had to later borrow clothes from a friend.
The fire tore through the back of the home and an attached garage, causing extensive
damage before firefighters could contain the blaze about 20 minutes later.
The rest of the home suffered heat, smoke and water damage.
The family says they lost everything and had no home insurance. Several of their
pets also died in the blaze.
But they are remaining positive, saying they owe their lives to the teenaged Good
Samaritan.
"She saved our lives. She saved our lives," sobbed one woman, who didn't give her name.
"If it wasn't for her we still would have been in there."
The teenager has brushed off the praise.
"Everyone would have done what I did," she said. "So, I'm no hero."
Fire investigators have not determined what caused the blaze but are examining the
possibility it was an electrical fire.