A 10-year-old Launceston boy has been awarded a certificate of bravery by the Tasmanian government, after saving his family from a kitchen fire in their home in Prospect Vale.

Ollie Brunskill spotted the fire, caused by a mandoline slicer that was accidentally left on a hot plate, from the reflection of a kitchen window.

Instead of panicking the young boy calmly alerted his mum to the fire and carried his baby sister Nora to safety.

“My son came over and alerted me that there was a fire,” mum Stacey Brunskill told the ABC.

“I came out to see what was going on and there was probably about a half-metre-high flame on the stove at that point.

“He quickly got her [Nora] out of her therapy chair and out of the house and across to the neighbour’s house for safety.”

Fortunately, they had a fire blanket, which his mum used to stop the growing fire.

“The fire brigade said that’s what stopped it from expanding further … if I didn’t have that, chances are that my house would have been completely demolished,” she said.

She said the house was covered in black smoke, and after calling emergency services, she retrieved a fire extinguisher from the boot of her car.

“I managed to blast it through my kitchen window and get the fire out enough for my neighbour to run over and put the hose through the window,” she said.

“Every door in the house was open … my son’s new bedding through to my daughter’s new playpen and car seat, all of that was in the lounge room.

“If Oliver hadn’t been here … we might not even be here,” she said.

The 10-year-old boy received a certificate of bravery from Education Minister Jo Palmer in front of his primary school on Wednesday.

Ollie said although “the entire kitchen was engulfed by flames”, he was able to stay calm in the moment because he felt prepared.

“Instead of grabbing everything which I really wanted to, I grabbed my baby sister,” he said.

“I stayed calm so my mum would stay calm.

“Saving my baby sister wasn’t on my bucket list.”

For a moment the young boy said he felt like his favourite hero, Link, from the video game series The Legend of Zelda, who he admires because he was “someone who saves people and species”.

The young boy dressed as his favourite character for book week, the day before the fire.

“Since Link’s a hero, that next day I became a hero,” the 10-year-old said. “And I have long hair so I can dress up like him”.

Ollie’s teachers have praised him for remembering the lessons taught during the school’s fire education sessions.

“We’ve had that in the last couple of months … I know after listening to Ollie and what he was able to do, that’s a result of his bravery but also the education he’s been able to gain from those valuable sessions,” Summerdale Primary School acting principal Toby O’Connor said.

Ollie’s mum said she was  “exceptionally proud” of her son.

“He’s pretty awesome because he also has level two autism and ADHD and is usually very full on and getting criticised for not paying enough attention to things.

“He’s the one that has saved us from potentially not being here.”

She has also encouraged parents with young children to invest in home fire-safety equipment.

Image: ABC News