Hero duo bro’s

By Jessica Howard

Two young brothers have been hailed heroes after they alerted authorities to a fire at the Ballan Primary School gymnasium.

Banjo and Clancy Luke were at their Ballan residence on Monday (April 3) when the base of the school building was set alight.

Banjo, 5, said he was playing in his cubby house when he smelt fire.

“I could see smoke too, so I went inside and I told Dad and he rang the police”.

Clancy, 9, said he followed his dad, Marty, outside to investigate.

“Dad got a bucket of water and he put it on the burning fire. Then the police and the fire brigade came and we told them that someone had lit the fire.

“Banjo was the real hero because he smelt the smoke but I helped too by sharing my thoughts and making decisions. I still can’t believe it happened, there was one in a thousand chances of this happening”.

Banjo and Clancy were presented the Captain Koala Honorary Firefighter award on Wednesday (April 19).

Ballan Fire Brigade member, Kaine Myers said the two boys should be “very proud of themselves”.

“You have done a really good job. If you hadn’t seen the smoke and told your dad then it could have been a lot worse, the building could have been burnt to the ground”.

The Moorabool Criminal Investigation Unit is investigating the fire that has been deemed suspicious.