FIVE visiting teenagers are being hailed as heroes after saving a Black Head woman from her burning home.
The Year 10 students from Pius X High School at Adamstown are annual visitors to Hallidays Point at this time of year but this particular week-long stay won't be one they forget in a hurry.
Colin Chapman, Tom Brice, Sean Steggles, Joe Heyes and Chris Northam were walking in William Street, headed for the beach about 7pm last Wednesday when they noticed an eerie glow through the window of a house.
The school mates could easily have ignored their suspicions and continued, but instead decided to investigate to check that all was well.
They knocked on the door but were greeted by screams and calls for help from inside.
Now smelling smoke, the boys sprang into action.
Tom raced to a window and smashed the glass, suffering superficial cuts on his hand.
He wasn't able to get into the house but spoke to the victim, attempting to reassure her.
Meanwhile his mates worked on the locked door, eventually able to force it open and race inside.
They found the woman on the floor, unable to get up and suffering from smoke inhalation.
The fire was spreading in the kitchen, with items catching the flames as the boys worked.
As some helped the victim out of the house, others raced to a neighbour's home to raise the alarm.
That neighbour, Bev Davey, saw the commotion and called triple 0 as her partner Stephen Young raced to the burning home.
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He and the boys doused the flames with water, helping to contain the fire until emergency crews arrived.
With rural fire service teams from Diamond Head, Taree and Nabiac quickly on the scene, the fire was extinguished and contained to a single room.
The victim spent the night in hospital but thanks to the quick thinking lads was not seriously injured.
The five hero teens came out of the house with their faces - and even their tongues - black with soot and required some oxygen from ambulance officers before receiving a clean bill of health.
Speaking less than 24 hours after the incident - and the day before they headed home - the boys said it was difficult to believe the incident had really happened.
While not remembering every detail, one thing they did recall clearly - breathing smoke is very painful.
"I'm glad we didn't just keep walking and ignore it," Chris said.
"At first we thought it was just a fireplace," Colin added.
"We just acted without thinking - I would've done it differently," Tom said of the smashed window.
Few others in the community would be so critical though, lauding the boys for their effort.
Police attending the scene congratulated the mates and took down their names.
Bev Davey was also relieved the teens had acted so quickly.
"The boys were really fantastic," she said.
"Without them (the victim) wouldn't be alive today."
Bev recalled the shock of looking and seeing the flames inside her neighbour's home, and the amazing scenes later as emergency vehicles filled the usually-quiet street.
She also praised the three fire teams for their very rapid response.
"It's scary to think what would've happened if the boys hadn't walked past, seen the flames and reacted," Bev said.
"They were very brave to do that."
The boys return to Newcastle with an impressive school holiday tale for their mates - and will no doubt be warmly welcomed back to Hallidays Point next year.
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