Hero boy, 8, killed in trailer fire after saving 6 of his sleeping relatives - PHOTO

A community in western New York is in mourning the death of an 8-year-old boy who was killed in a trailer fire while attempting to rescue his disabled uncle and grandfather.

Cpl. John Helfer of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said nine people were in the single-wide mobile home in the town of Penfield when the fire started around 4.45am Monday.The inferno claimed the life of 8-year-old Tyler Doohan, and also killed his grandfather, 57-year-old Louis Beach, and the boy’s amputee uncle, 54-year-old Steven Smith. A dog also perished in the blaze.Sheriff's deputies say Doohan, who was staying in Beach’s trailer overnight, apparently discovered the fire and roused six people who got out safely.Helfer said four adults and two children, ages 4 and 6, were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.The Democrat and Chronicle reported that Tyler asked his mother if he could stay with his grandpa at 39 Fondiller Avenue because he knew he was off from school Monday for Martin Luther King Jr Day. A couple of hours before dawn, an electrical fire broke out at the front of the trailer and quickly engulfed the tiny residence that housed nine people who were sound asleep at the time.  Tyler Doohan woke up first and alerted six of his relatives, among them two children, who were able to escape.Investigators believe the fourth-grader then ran to the back of the trailer where his wheelchair-bound uncle, who was missing a part of his leg, was sleeping. He never made it out of the home. The boy’s other uncle, Joseph Breyette, said his young nephew heard Smith calling for help inside the house and rushed in to get him. ‘The kid has got more guts than I know of,’ Breyette said. ‘I mean to run back in there and go through what he went through to try to save his uncle, what can you say for the kid?  He was a great kid.’The child's body was discovered by firefighters in the rear bedroom just a few feet away from the bed of his disabled uncle, who also perished in the fire along with the homeowner.The boy's relatives who managed to flee from the trailer were taken to Strong Memorial Hospital with non life threatening injuries. Penfield Fire Chief Chris Ebmeyer said if it weren't for Tyler Doohan's actions, the number of fatalities could have been much higher. 'He saved those other six people,' he said.Neighbors at the trailer park said the reason Louis Beach's mobile home was overcrowded with people Sunday night was because he often welcomed down-on-their-luck relatives who needed a place to stay. Those who knew the family described Tyler as a rambunctious boy who liked playing kickball and tag with other children in the area.According to his education records, the child had been in and out of several different schools over the past few years. He was currently enrolled as a fourth-grader in the East Rochester Central School District, where officials called the boy a hero this week. ‘He was the kind of young man who would bend over backwards for anybody. He was a very caring individual always came to school with a smile on his face. Always asking what can I do to help,’ Interim Superintendent Richard Stuntzman Jr told the station WHEC.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az