Eight-year-old dies rescuing six from fire

An eight-year-old boy who rescued six family members from a house fire died while trying to rescue his grandfather and disabled uncle.

Tyler Doohan was the first to wake when a blanket caught fire in his grandfather's mobile home in Penfield, New York about 4.45am Monday, WROC reported.

He quickly woke four adults and two children and led them to safety.

However, realising the pair – including his uncle who was missing part of a leg and relied on a wheelchair – were still in the single-wide trailer, Tyler reportedly went back to get them.

His charred body was found next to that of his uncle 54-year-old Steven Smith, while his grandfather Louis Beach, 57, was found in a bed a few feet away.

All six survivors, including the boy's 65-year-old grandmother, were taken to hospital with one person suffering third-degree burns.

Tyler had reportedly asked to stay with his grandfather overnight because of a school holiday for Martin Luther King Jr Day.

Local Superintendent Richard Stutzman said the little boy’s death had left the surburban community in shock.

"To go running back in there it’s quite something," Stutzman said.

"It’s probably not what you teach in fire school, hover he did it and that’s how we’re going to remember him."

The cause of the fire is under investigation although initial findings suggest an electrical problem was at fault.

Author: Chloe Ross, Approving editor: Matthew Henry