"A true hero:" 9-year-old boy alerts parents about fire in their Fond du Lac home

FOND DU LAC -- A nine-year-old alerted his parents about a fire in their Fond du Lac home early Sunday, December 25th.

Firefighters were dispatched to the home  on S. Park Ave. around 3:15 a.m. on Sunday. There was a report of a basement fire.

When crews arrived on the scene, they found smoke coming from the first floor rear door of a two-story duplex. The upstairs tenants were not home at the time of the incident.

The nine-year-old boy was sleeping on a first floor living room couch when he saw smoke. He quickly alerted his parents of the fire. All three evacuated safely.

"This could have been disastrous situation if the nine-year-old had not awakened," stated Assistant Chief Steve Beer in a news release. "I would consider him a true hero in this situation."

No working smoke detectors were found in the basement or first floor of the structure. The fire was contained to the basement.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time.