JACK Avery was only 13 years old when he rescued his family from their burning house in Newport.
It was a scene that could have been taken from a Hollywood film, but it was frighteningly real, so real in fact that Jack last week received the Bravery Medal for his actions.
But Jack, now 17, preferred not to think of himself as a hero for what he did on the morning of 24 May 2003.
“I acted on instinct. I didn’t really realise what I was doing until afterwards when I sat back and thought about it.
“I think I just did what anyone would do.
“If your family is in trouble, you give them a hand. You help out.”
Jack said there was very little that would have stirred him from bed that fateful morning, other than the frantic screams of his distressed mother.
“I had footy training the night before.
“There was no chance I was getting up at 7.30 on a Saturday morning.”
Once he realised what was happening Jack rushed his siblings, one clutched under each arm, to safety.
He made it back inside to get his third sibling Sam, who suffers from a genetic brain condition, and carried him safely outside, followed closely by his mum, Debbie.
Mrs Avery said she was not surprised by her son’s actions, as he had stepped up many times in the past when action needed to be taken.
Jack said he was stunned at the ferocity with which the fire consumed the house.
“It must have travelled up a wall because I looked up and the whole ceiling was literally covered in flames.
“And then the whole thing just fell, like a blanket, on top of the lounge room.”
Jack still doesn’t know exactly who nominated him for the award, and was very surprised when the official-looking letter bearing his name arrived in the post.
He said the attention since the announcement has been unrelenting, but he has taken it in his stride, and his mates have been around to ensure all the accolades don’t go to his head.
“They’ve been giving me a bit of a hard time, calling me the hero and all that.” The Bravery Medal is awarded for acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances.
It has been a feature of the Australian honours system since 1975.
And as one of the 14 winners this year, Jack Avery joins just 800 others nation-wide who have won the award since its inception.
