Ex-EFL player/manager Dean Keates has been left proud of his brave son Joel, 17, who rescued old lady from house fire at 2am.
This dramatic footage captures the moment the young lad from Greater Manchester saves an elderly neighbour from a fire in their home.
Joel Keates’ heroic actions were caught on a Ring doorbell camera on Friday morning (April 4), running over to see what screams he could hear were, only to find out that his neighbours’ home was on fire.
Joel called for help from from his dad and step-mum as thick smoke filled the air, he then manages to pull his neighbour to safety, and says to Manchester Evening news that when he heard the screams, he left his house and just thought: “Go!”
Afterwards, Joel said “I didn’t really have a second thought”.
The sixth form student, currently getting reading to take his BTEC exams, said: “I don’t think the realisation of what happened has really hit me yet”.
His step-mum, Emily Haddock, said she, like Dean was ‘extraordinarily proud’ and he was ‘so brave’ to run to help without a second thought.
A seen above, footage taken from a Ring doorbell captures the moment Joel Keates heroically rescued an elderly neighbour from a house fire in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, just moments before the whole house went up in flames.
In the early hours of Friday, April 4, 2025, Joel, up late ordering a McDonald’s delivery, heard screams outside.
Acting without hesitation, he rushed downstairs, spotted smoke pouring from the neighbour’s windows, and called the fire brigade.
He then woke his father, Dean, and stepmother, Emily Haddock, to assist. Together, the family successfully brought the elderly woman to safety before the flames fully engulfed her home. Thankfully, no serious injuries were reported.
The dramatic rescue was captured on Dean and Emily’s Ring doorbell camera, showing Joel sprinting toward the cries for help as thick smoke filled the air.
Dean Keates (@keates12) tweeted: “I couldn’t be anymore proud of my son & his brave actions. #istillwontheracedownthesteps 😂”
I couldn’t be anymore proud of my son & his brave actions. #istillwontheracedownthesteps😂 https://t.co/RkLph95oem
— Dean Keates (@keates12) April 9, 2025
“It was around 2am, and I’d ordered a McDonald’s to the house because I’d just broken up for the Easter holidays,” Joel said to the Manchester Evening News.
“So I was sat up in my room and I heard screaming so I went to have a look.
“It was pretty obvious there was a fire, there was smoke coming out of the windows and the roof – the house hadn’t gone up in flames since but it did soon after.”
The sixth-former, who is getting set to take his B-tec exams, said he left his house and just thought ‘go’: “I didn’t really have a second thought,” he added. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
As soon as his neighbour was safely out of the house, Joel said she was ‘very shaken up’ and asked him to sit with her as he went to get her blankets and a coat.
“I don’t think the realisation of what happened has really hit me yet,” he said. “It’s still not fully in my head that that’s what I went and did.”
Stepmum Emily Haddock added to the media outlet that the whole family are ‘extraordinarily proud’ of Joel’s quick thinking.
“We’ve lived there for six years, and it’s an elderly neighbour who we know pretty well,” she said. “We’re extraordinarily proud of him and how brave he was.
“He initially thought someone was being stabbed, so he was so brave to even come out and see what was going on. As you can see in the video, without a second thought he just ran to help. We’re very proud of him.”
Twitter users reacted with Dean Keates ‘proud’ of his brave son who rescued an old lady from a house fire at 2am…
@Chris_De_Burger: Two incredibly brave men. I bet he’s as proud of you as you are of him.
@robbowxm: No surprise.. Apple doesn’t fall far..👌❤️ Hope you’re good pal..☺️
@UpTheTown1864: 💪 hope life’s treating you well Dean. Very proud dad I bet.
@David5234249775: Amazing story! What a hero
@creights5: Well done mate. You were always so quick, like me….
@jordanread72: Awesome stuff! Very brave lad, bet you couldn’t be prouder
@ScottMoreton5: Fair play 👍
@pauljones_wxm: What brave young man, rightly proud of him
@819L819: But did he play a half of football with a broken collarbone
@DavidJa72939338: Chip off the old block! Can’t believe he’s that old!
@foreverayellow: huge fairplay to joel, such a quick response, to initially go and bravely find out what was going on, to then seeking help and then managing to save the old lady. footage of that just astonishing. credit to joel and his family
