Pet Parrot's Cries Of 'Anton! Anton!' Save Owner From House Fire

November 4, 2020

A man in Brisbane has survived a late-night house fire after his pet parrot sounded the alarm before smoke detectors kicked in.

Credit: ABC News / Stuart Bryce

The house was engulfed in flames when crews arrived just after 2:00am local time. Anton Nguyen said he was lucky to escape uninjured after his parrot, Eric, alerted him to danger.

QFES Acting Inspector Cam Thomas said the parrot squawked "Anton! Anton!" to alert Nguyen of the danger.

"There was a gentleman asleep at the time," he said.

"He heard a large bang and his parrot, Eric, actually alerted him to get out of the building and they both got out fine. There were smoke detectors [but] the bird alerted before the smoke detectors went off."

Credit: ABC News / Stuart Bryce

"I'm in shock but I'm fine," Nguyen told ABC News.

"Everything's alright so long as I have myself and the bird."