10-year-old boy dies saving siblings from house fire

Nguyen Dao Phu Quy and his five younger siblings were inside their house in Vinh Loc A Commune when it caught fire on the afternoon of July 23.

Quy took four of his siblings to the house’s balcony so that neighbors could take them to safety as the fire spread rapidly.

Neighbors who had rushed to rescue the children and put out the fire said Quy rushed back into the burning house to save his youngest brother who was just 8 months old.

After the fire was brought under control, Quy was found holding the baby in the bathroom. Both of them were unconscious. They were taken to the hospital, but could not be saved.

A neighbor named Thuy said Quy rushed back into the house “way too fast even as everyone was focused on making sure the other four children were safe.”

“It is heartbreaking. He was just 10 but he was so brave and loved his siblings so much.”

The father of the children, Nguyen Vinh Phuoc, 37, said he rented the house in 2021.

On the day of the fire, he and the oldest child, 15, were working at a construction site in Thu Duc City, an hour’s drive away from Binh Chanh.

His wife was working at a company around one km from the rented house. Every day, she would go home to make lunch for the children before returning to work.

While his parents and oldest brother were busy working, Quy was in charge of taking care of five siblings on his own, including preparing the formula for the baby and feeding the toddlers.

Quy used to live with his grandmother and uncle in his mother’s hometown of Soc Trang Province in the Mekong Delta as his parents could not take care of all the children.

For his summer break, the boy wanted to be with his siblings and parents.

He had stayed with his family for three weeks when the fire broke out. Quy and his youngest brother were buried Monday.

Police are investigating the fire.