An elderly couple have been reunited with the neighbours who saved their lives after sleeping through a fire.
Mele Bijrovic, 79, and his wife were fast asleep when a blaze erupted in the living room of their Melbourne home.
Neighbours Jasmina and her husband saw the inferno and banged on the door of the Bijrovics home – but the couple thought they were burglars and refused to answer.
They then noticed the smoke billowing from outside their bedroom and fled the house.
Mele Bijrovic, 79, and his wife were fast asleep when a blaze erupted in the living room of their Melbourne home
Neighbours Jasmina and her husband saw the inferno and banged on the door of the Bijrovics home – but the couple thought they were burglars and refused to answer
The incident took place on Wednesday night after the elderly couple had gone to bed.
Jasmina, 30, and her husband returned home to find flames burst through the front window of their neighbours’ home and immediately called Triple Zero.
‘My husband saw the smoke and we just started alerting the neighbourhood,’ Jasmina told Seven.
Jasmina (pictured) and her husband returned home to find flames burst through the front window of their neighbours’ home and immediately called Triple Zero
Mele can be seen attempting to put out the fire in his Melbourne home on Wednesday evening
Firefighters say they were lucky to escape. They believe a freezer may have shorted and cause the fire
After attempting to wake the Bijrovics, they were met with no reply.
‘Mum heard banging and she didn’t want to open the door,’ their son Kemal Bijrovic said.
The pair, unaware of the blaze, believed they were in the middle of a robbery and were too scared to leave their room.
Fortunately they then saw the smoke billowing from the living room and quickly evacuated the house.
Firefighters say they were lucky to escape. They believe a freezer may have shorted and cause the fire.
Mele was reunited with Jasmina on Thursday morning and gave her a big hug.
‘She’s a hero,’ he said.
Mele was reunited with Jasmina on Thursday morning and gave her a big hug. ‘She’s a hero,’ he said