Teenaged brothers Luke and Colten Rybuck are being heralded as heroes after saving a man from his burning house. The rescue happened at 1:30am, as the boys were walking home from a Canadian GTA V midnight launch.

On their way home with their new game, the brothers heard the sound of smoke detectors, screeching from a nearby house. Smoke was pouring from the window, and they heard a man inside crying for help. 17year old Colten called 911, while 16year old Luke kicked in the front door. The pair waited for emergency services, but soon grew impatient and decided to go into the house themselves.

Overcome by the thick smoke, the brothers made their way back out of the house, without locating the male resident they’d heard calling out.

Luke told local media:

He was asking for help and he’s telling us he couldn’t breathe.



…we couldn’t see a thing, it was burning our eyes. We couldn’t breathe at all, had our shirts over our faces.

Shortly after that – within minutes of Colten’s initial call – Richmond Hill Fire Department arrived on the scene, and crews quickly pulled the elderly male patient from the burning house, semi-conscious.

Fire Chief Steve Kraft praised the brothers’ efforts:

I think it’s amazing. We never want people to get injured in a fire, but I think most people know that our natural instinct is to try to assist somebody.

The fire caused extensive damage, but is not considered to be suspicious. The 70-year old resident is now in a stable condition in hospital, being treated for major smoke inhalation. Both Luke and Colten were treated for minor smoke inhalation and allowed to return home with their new game.