After saving his grandparents from their burning house in Northcote in 2012, 13-year-old Peter Gouskos has been nominated for a Young Citizen of the Year award by the City of Darebin.
The honour is unexpected for the young hero, who didn’t think much of his brave actions and didn’t expect much fuss.
“When the fire happened, I expected that to be it,” he tells Neos Kosmos. “I just acted spontaneously.”
Peter was one of six to be nominated, and although he didn’t win the award, he joined the ranks of talented young people honoured for their bravery, their charitable work and their goodwill.
That fateful day, Peter was the driving force for saving his grandparents and their house.
He ran out of the burning house to notify neighbours and seek help for his elderly grandparents, thereby saving their lives and, thanks to his quick response, the house only suffered minor damage to the roof.
His mother Sophie Tzirozidis, who was out walking the dog when the house fire began, heard her young son screaming on the street, waving his hands for help, and immediately ran home to see her family home in flames.
The fire took firefighters between two to three hours to contain, and caused approximately $350,000 damage to the property.
Ms Tzirozidis says she believes the fire started from the smart meter installed, after she saw flames coming from the box.
For Peter, he says he’ll be on the watch to help other people avoid dangerous situations around fire.
“If I see someone trying to light something I’d be a bit more cautious,” he says.