Elias (8) reports fire

How two young boys became lifesavers

Elias (8) is sure to be thanked by the team: he was the first to alert his mother when the garage in his neighbor's garden was on fire.

(Bild: FF Ollern/Wilfersdorf)

Eight-year-old Elias in Wilfersdorf in the district of Tulln (Lower Austria) proved to have the right nose. The boy "sniffed out" a fire on his neighbor's property and immediately raised the alarm. Leon (15) also became a lifesaver in Perchtoldsdorf near Mödling.

As is well known, those who help quickly help twice - and so it is probably thanks to eight-year-old Elias that a garage fire in Wilfersdorf in the district of Tulln did not end in an inferno. "Mum, there's a funny smell of smoke from the neighbor across the street," the primary school pupil raised the alarm. And his mother's reaction was spot on: she listened to her son, checked - and discovered that a car was on fire in the garage on the other side of the street.

Shortly after the alarm was raised, the smoke was impossible to miss.

(Bild: FF Ollern/Wilfersdorf)

A car had apparently caught fire in the garage.

(Bild: FF Ollern/Wilfersdorf)

She immediately dialed the emergency number and fire departments from five towns raced to the scene. And not a second too soon, as the flames threatened to spread not only to the outbuilding, but also to the adjoining house. However, the alerted firefighters were able to prevent this by extinguishing the fire using heavy breathing apparatus. 64 volunteers were deployed and one firefighter was injured. And yet: "Without little Elias' attentive nose, everything could have been much worse," say the firefighters.

Widek and Schmoll with 15-year-old Elias.

(Bild: Notruf NÖ)

15-year-old Leon Heiss also showed civil courage in Perchtoldsdorf. While boarding the bus, the neo-apprentice suddenly heard cries for help - the young firefighter immediately gave the fallen man first aid and initiated the rescue chain. During a visit to the Mödling control center, Leon was able to recount his experiences and impressions of the operation to the professionals. Quality Manager Lisa Widek also listened to the emergency call together with Leon and explained to him the procedures involved in emergency operations.

Notruf Niederösterreich Managing Director Josef Schmoll presented the young rescuer and emergency caller with a certificate and the Notruf Niederösterreich Award for his courage and civil courage during this operation. "The most important thing in any emergency is to look and not look away and to call the emergency services immediately. Our staff in the control center support every emergency caller and stay on the phone until help arrives in life-threatening emergencies like this one," says Schmoll.