`Get out of bed and run'

Gran praises quick actions of Bobby, 13, for saving their lives
"It's a miracle," says Ethel Harris.
The 84-year-old's garage, sleepout and shed - as well as her husband Fred's collection of trophy axes - may be gone, but her Opuawhanga house was spared.
She's full of praise for her grandson, locals, firefighters and God: "I don't know how to thank people. Words aren't enough."
The flames had started to lick the side of the house when the fire swirled around and backtracked, sparing the Whananaki North Rd farmhouse - "Our local fire brigade man had said `Dear, you'd better go'," Ethel said.
The great-grandmother was resting on Tuesday afternoon when the lights flickered, the power went out, and she noticed a burning smell. Sending 13-year-old grandson Bobby sniffing around the house didn't reveal any likely causes.
"I don't know why to this day I said, `Bobby, just go and check the boot shed, dear'," Ethel said.
"Get out of bed and run - there's a fire," came his swift response.
The blaze was thought to have started in the electrics of a freezer, and Ethel reckons her level-headed grandson was her lifesaver.
The fire had short-circuited their electricity - the cordless phone was out so they couldn't call 111, and their water runs through an electric pump so they couldn't fight the flames.
"Everything was right there at my fingertips, but I couldn't use it," Ethel said.
She sent Bobby up the road in her car to get help.
"I hope I don't get into trouble for letting him drive, but I'd do it all again if the same thing happened," she said.
Within five minutes there were people "everywhere". The 40-odd locals and passers-by who turned up were unable to battle the flames, but cleared furniture from the house in case the fire skipped over from the garage.
A fire truck and tanker arrived from Hikurangi, and appliances from Whangarei, Kamo and Whananaki helped put out the fire.
Hikurangi chief fire officer Snow Buckton said the family had a lucky escape.
"It was good to see a community like that working together. It takes me back," he said.
Ethel is full of praise for the "many marvellous, wonderful people" who helped: "Big burly workers - they just picked things up as though they were matchsticks."
Meanwhile Bobby, who praised his cousin Aaron Ogle's quick response and clean-up efforts, has learned the importance of having a reliable water source - and not to open a door if there is a suspected fire behind it.
First on Ethel's list of things to sort out is an old-fashioned plug-in phone to better suit her house, which is over 100 years old, and used to be a post office with adjacent blacksmith and butcher shop.