A TEENAGER who saved his family home from destruction after a blaze broke out in the bathroom has been praised for his quick thinking and courage.

Daniel Rodgers was alone in the big semi-detached house in Shipley while his parents were watching Barnum at Bradford Alhambra on Wednesday night.

And as the 16-year-old played computer games in his bedroom, an electrical fault in a bathroom extractor fan suddenly caused the wall-mounted unit to burst into flames.

A Level student Daniel heard a noise and investigated, only to find the room on fire because burning molten plastic from the fan had fallen into the fibreglass bath below, igniting it instantly.

His father Dave told what happened next: "We'd left the theatre and were at the Shipley club when at about 10.10pm I got a call from Daniel who said; " Dad, there's a fire in the bathroom".

"Daniel had already gone in and opened the window before closing the door and stuffing clothes under it to seal in the fire and smoke," said IT consultant Mr Rodgers, 57.

"He'd already left the house and was in the garden having collected our black labrador Mack, but didn't waste time taking anything else, not even his precious PlayStation 4.

"I told him to call the fire brigade and we raced home."

Mr Rodgers said when they reached their home of 17 years in Fern Hill Grove, flames were dancing against the windows of the bathroom.

He and wife Joanne joined Beckfoot School pupil Daniel, who was on the phone to his elder brother Connor, away at Northumbria University.

"Firemen from Shipley and Bingley arrived, put it out straight away and were absolutely brilliant," Mr Rodgers said.

"They stayed until 2pm checking the house for hot spots and embers in the roof.

"And when they asked Daniel how he knew exactly how to contain the fire he replied: 'Well, it's what I learned in Year 5 at Saltaire Primary School when we had a visit from the local fire station.'

"I thought it was brilliant he'd remembered that from when he was ten!" Mr Rodgers said.

"And we're so proud he remained so incredibly calm and firstly saved himself and then of course the house itself."

Mrs Rodgers, who works at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, said while they had a downstairs fire alarm, they would now install one upstairs.

And they must also replace their destroyed bathroom.

"But the house is the least important thing really - you can live anywhere," Mrs Rodgers said.

"What matters is that Daniel did the right things and got out safely.

"I'd say everyone should have a safety check of the electrics in the home.

"The fan that caught fire was like a bomb which could have gone off at any time."

White watch commander at Shipley station, Jav Khan, praised Daniel's prompt actions and stressed the importance of smoke alarms.

Watch commander Khan added: “Obviously he was alerted by the smoke alarm but his quick actions prevented the fire from spreading and engulfing the rest of the property.”

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