A 13-year old boy is forever grateful to his uncle for saving him from their burning home in Waiyavi, Lautoka, on Friday night.
When the Sunday Times visited the site yesterday morning, a shocked but grateful Jashneel Rajiv was still trying to come to terms with their 12-bedroom house being destroyed by fire leaving 15 family members homeless.
Despite losing all his school stationery a week before the start of the new school year, Rajiv said he was lucky to be saved by his uncle Mahen Singh.
"I was inside the house when the fire started. When the family members ran outside, I decided to put out the fire," he said.
" The fire spread quickly, and left me trapped inside our burning house. I could feel the heat all over my body and I could hardly move because of the black smoke blocking my view. A few seconds later I could feel the fire behind my head, I sensed this would be my day so I started calling for help.
"I could not escape and all I did was to kneel down with face down and continued calling for assistance until I was dragged out of the house by uncle," he said.
Rajiv's brave uncle said all family members were outside the house when he heard the screams.
"We never realised that Rajiv was trapped inside the house five minutes after the fire started," he said.
"Later Rajiv's mother came out screaming and crying saying that her son was trapped inside. I wasted no time even though I knew the risks involved in trying to save the boy. I never lost hope. I made my way through the thick black smoke and the heat of the fire inside the house and dragged my nephew out of the burnt house.
"I was happy to have been successful," he said.
Rajiv said he would forever be grateful to his uncle for saving his life.
"I will not be able to repay my uncle for his bravery. I thank him for putting his life on the line for me," an appreciative Rajiv said.