A man from Brisbane, Australia, has his parrot to thank for saving his life after a fire broke out in his home. Anton Nguyen was asleep when the flames began to ravage his house in the early hours of Wednesday. The smoke detectors did not go off immediately so his parrot, Eric, sprang into action, squawking his owner's name until he was awake.
"I heard a bang and Eric — my parrot — he started to yell so I woke up and I smelled a bit of smoke," Anton told Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "I grabbed Eric, opened the door and looked to the back of the house and saw some flames. And so I've grabbed my bag and took off and bolted downstairs."
Anton and Eric managed to escape uninjured.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Acting Inspector Cam Thomas confirmed the fire, explaining that Eric was able to wake Anton up before the smoke detectors went off.
"There was a gentleman asleep at the time," he said. “He heard a large bang and his parrot, Eric, actually alerted him to get out of the building and they both got out fine. There were smoke detectors [but] the bird alerted before the smoke detectors went off."
Fire crew were able to contain the blaze before it spread to neighboring houses.
"The fire's pretty much well engulfed the whole premise, with exposures on the left hand side that have needed protecting with some blistering on the exterior," said Thomas.
The property has been declared a crime scene and officials are investigating the cause of the fire.
Anton said he and Eric were coping in the aftermath of the blaze.
"I'm in shock but I'm fine," he told ABC. "Everything's alright so long as I have myself and the bird."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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