A quick-thinking teenager is being praised as a holiday hero for helping to save the lives of 14 people after a fire erupted at his home in east end Toronto.

The fire broke out in the back of the house on Cedarview Drive, near Kingston and Meadowvale roads, shortly before 3 a.m. on Wednesday.

When fire crews arrived on scene officials say a wooden deck back of the home was fully engulfed in flames.

“The wooden deck was being fed by a gas line that had somehow been compromised,” Capt. David Eckerman with Toronto Fire Services explained. “That made the fighting of the fire a little more difficult.”

The fire then spread from the deck to inside the basement of the home.

“The fire was able to make its way through the basement window to the interior of the basement,” said Capt. Eckerman. “It didn’t get too far past that point although there would have been smoke migration throughout the home.”

Enbridge was called to the scene to help shut off the gas line so the fire could be controlled and extinguished.

Homeowner Shah Syed said his wife first alerted him to the fire.

“She called me and she was shouting please come,” he explained. “I tried to put two or three buckets of water (on the fire) but it was getting bigger and bigger. Then I tried to save my kids.”

Syed then told his son Safi, 16, to call for help.

“Huge flames, bigger than the house … I see my dad running around saying to call 911. I quickly grabbed the phone, called 911 … everybody got out OK,” Safi said.

With the help of his brother, Safi was able to get all 14 people, including his seven other siblings, out of the home safe – including a downstairs tenant who was sleeping at the time.

“He was thanking us … saying [you’ve] saved my life,” Safi said.

There has been no word on how the fire started.

Capt. Eckerman said he couldn’t comment on if the gas line had been connected to a barbeque or if it was a service line, but said an investigation will be launched to determine what caused the gas leak.

“We don’t know how this gas line came to be compromised,” he explained. “We don’t know if it was a result of the fire or if in fact it was compromised before the fire.”

It was an emotional scene outside the house as family members embraced each other after they escaped to safety.

The Syed family had just moved into the home a few weeks ago and were planning to throw a housewarming party on Wednesday, but that of course has been cancelled.

“I’m phoning them and cancelling,” he said. “We’ll stay with my brother…It is a very sad day.”