Tyler Doohan, Eight, Dies Saving Family from New York Fire

An eight-year-old boy has been hailed as a hero after saving six relatives from a house fire in New York state, but who died when he went back in to the burning building to rescue his disabled uncle and grandfather.

Tyler Doohan was found dead in his grandfather's trailer home in Penfield, a suburb of Rochester. Nine people were inside the trailer when the fire broke out. It was blamed on faulty wiring.

Police said that Tyler managed to wake up six people, including his grandmother and two children aged four and six, before returning to help rescue the remaining two.

Tyler's body was found near the bed of his 54-year-old uncle Steven Smith, an amputee. His grandfather, Louis Beach, 57, and the family's pet dog, cats and hamsters, also died in the blaze.

Penfield fire chief Chris Ebmeyer said: "The roof had collapsed on the front half of the trailer and one of the individuals was found there, probably on a couch, but there was nothing left to even see if it was furniture.

"In the rear, there was a bedroom and the other deceased male was found in a bed. The child was a few feet away.

"He saved those other six people."

The boy has been praised by relatives and neighbours for his bravery.

"The kid has more guts than I know of," an uncle, Joseph Bereyette, told Rochester-based station WHEC.

"To run back in there and go through what he went through to try to save his uncle - what can you say for the kid?

"He was a great kid."

It is believed that the family had been warned about the dangers of housing so many people inside the trailer. Tyler was at his grandfather's because he had a day off from school.

A spokesperson for East Rochester Central School District said: "According to emergency personnel, [Tyler] was the person who discovered the fire and tried to wake the eight other people in the residence at the time.

"In bravely and selflessly giving his own life, he was able to save the lives of six others, and he is truly a hero."