A PROUD father has described the brave actions of his teenage son who helped rescue three people from a house fire in Bradford.

Jibril Muhammed Faris, 13, was playing at his friend's house in St Mary's Drive, Wyke, when a fire took hold, believed to have been caused by a hoverboard which had been charging in a downstairs living room.

The hoverboard, a two-wheeled gadget that has become a popular present in the UK, had been removed from its socket when it began to smoke and then caught fire.

Quick-thinking Jibril managed to rescue his friend Tony Chiem, nine, and his sister Karen Chiem, eight, from the blaze, leading them to safety in an upstairs bedroom.

Jibril, a student at Dixons Trinity Academy in Little Horton, Bradford, then dialled 999, with operators advising him to cover the bottom of the bedroom door so the fire could not spread to the room.

The three children and the Chiem children's mother, Thu, who got back into the house, then managed to escape through the front door.

Mrs Chiem is believed to have suffered a burn to her ear and her husband, Ving Hung Chiem, is also understood to have sustained a burn to his head while trying to put the fire out himself.

Jibril's father, Tariq Majid, 46, said his son was still having nightmares after the incident, which happened just before 9pm on Friday.

"I can't believe what happened," he said.

"As his father, I am really proud of him.

"He said they could have died in the fire. I'm just happy that they are all alive.

"For about an hour after he came back from hospital he just screamed. He said, 'Daddy, I need you to stay with me'.

"He was just so frightened. He is still having nightmares now. Jibril is waking up at night and screaming out loud. He said his life flashed before him.

"He dialled 999 and was liaising with them.

"The hoverboard was charging in the living room. They took it out and it was smoking and then caught fire.

"They thought about jumping out of the upstairs window.

"A police officer outside said 'your son is a hero, if it was not for him they would have died'."

The children and Mr and Mrs Chiem were all treated for smoke inhalation and shock at Bradford Royal Infirmary before being discharged in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Fire crews from Cleckheaton attended the incident, and a spokesman for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that Jibril had made the 999 call and used clothes to block the doorway to the bedroom to help control the fire.

The spokesman added that the house had suffered smoke and fire damage as a result of the blaze.

Fire investigator, station manager Mark Helliwell praised Jibril's quick thinking.

He confirmed that the origin of the fire was the hoverboard, saying the most likely cause was the overheating of the lithium batteries.

"Although hoverboard fires have recently hit the national headlines, this is the first one that we have recorded in West Yorkshire. 

"Whilst we do not wish to scaremonger, there are simple steps people can take to reduce the risk.

"Ultimately this property did not have working smoke alarms and we cannot stress to people enough how important this is.

"Having a fire evacuation plan can also save you vital seconds in the event of a blaze like this."

Today, Steve Curtler, product safety manager at charity Electrical Safety First, also warned of the potential dangers of hoverboards.

"These devices are powered by a large lithium battery that needs to be charged and some of the chargers sold with hoverboards have no fuse and no protection," he said.

"With hoverboards, the potential risk is a lot bigger because the batteries used are about ten times the size you get in e-cigarettes or mobile phones, so there's a real concern that there is an increased risk of injury to the user."