A GIRL has been praised for her heroic actions in getting her younger siblings out of their burning bedroom.
An upstairs bedroom of a property on Chevrons Road in Shotton went up in flames in the early hours of Thursday (July 14).
And if not for the incredible actions of 12-year-old Ruby Crane, it could have been an incident that left children dead.
After what fire investigators believe was a faulty hair dryer caught fire, it spread to Ruby's bed.
Her mum, Cheryl Sansom, explained: "I was in my bedroom talking to my partner when we heard a scream.
"We didn't know which room it had come from but the fire alarms in the house all went off and we saw the girls running out of their bedrooms.
"My partner went in Ruby's room and saw the matress of fire - he grabbed it and took it downstairs and threw it on the front lawn. When he went back in the whole upstairs was covered in thick black smoke."
Cheryl continued: "If it wasn't for Ruby, we'd have lost our 11-month-old baby and eight-year-old daughter. Ruby managed to get them out of their rooms before the smoke engulfed it.
"There are no words to describe how proud I am of her - she suffers from anxiety and for her to do something so incredibly brave is just amazing."
An appeal for donations has now been launched, with the family losing everything in the upstairs of the house.
"Everything upstairs has gone," Cheryl said.
"Our children have lost everything from their bedrooms. We have been here for just under a year and had spent thousands decorating it. We'd bought all new beds for the kids, all of which have been ruined."
Cheryl thanked the local community for the donations already received, which include clothes, shoes and cash donations.
"We're heartbroken, but just thankful we're all ok and to the brilliant community for their generous donations," Cheryl added.
"I keep thinking how close we were to losing our children. Without Ruby, we would have."
Firefighters were called to the property at 12.50am on Thursday.
Two crews from Deeside attended and an occupant (one man) was taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation and burns to his hand.
A spokesman for the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "A man from Shotton was hospitalised in the early hours of this morning following a fire in his bedroom caused by a hairdryer left on the bed – please ensure hairdryers or straighteners have cooled completely before placing on soft furnishings or packing away."
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