7yo saves parents from blaze that destroyed family home
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A calm young boy saved a Mackay family from an inferno that razed their home in a midnight fire.
Jason Phipps said his son Bailey heard the smoke alarms sounding at their Tay St home about midnight Thursday and came in to their bedroom to wake them from the lull of the airconditioning.
"I just grabbed me wallet and phone, I went out the front and rang triple-0," Mr Phipps said.
"I had boxers, no shirts, no shoes - bare feet.
"The missus had her pyjamas on. None of us had anything.
"By that time the back of the house was up in flames.
"We saved our dog, he come to the side gate, he was very scared.
"But we lost all our budgies, we had some baby birds in the box and we lost them all."
Mr Phipps said Bailey remained calm during the emergency but was shivering by the time they escaped to the front lawn.
"Thank god for the smoke alarms because if they weren't working we wouldn't be able to be here today to tell the story," he said.
"The whole house is pretty much gone. We've lost it all.
"There's nothing to be salvaged."
Mr Phipps said he, Bailey and his partner and Bailey's mother, Krystle Irwin, were now staying in a motel.
His sister Makala Mason has since created a GoFundMe to help the family get back on their feet over the Christmas period.
"They literally only the clothes on their back," Ms Mason said.
To chip in, head to https://au.gofundme.com/f/helping-a-family-through-a-tough-time
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