Connor Stewart, 17, nominated for Pride of Australia bravery award after saving his family from their burning Thornleigh home

Smoke and sound woke Connor Stewart around midnight, then instinct kicked in and he raced to wake his family and get them to safety in time.

Connor Stewart saved his family by waking them up when his house caught fire. He's nominated for the Hornsby Advocate Pride of Australia award..

Smoke and sound woke Connor Stewart around midnight.

“There was a bright light coming out from under my door,” he said.

His sister, Serena, was up as well and he told her to get out of the burning house, then raced to where his mum, Kelli, and her partner, Arn, were sleeping, woke them up and rushed them to the safety of the yard. The 17-year-old, who was 16 at the time, is nominated for a Pride of Australia award for his bravery that night in October.

“It was just my immediate reaction, the way my parents have brought me up, my family is what’s important to me, I’m family orientated and so the first thing I thought of was to get my family out,” Mr Stewart said.

“I rushed back inside to grab a couple of valuables from the kitchen bench, I could hardly see inside the house. The sound was like fireworks. Standing on the driveway, we just saw the roof cave in.”

In the months since, Mr Stewart has helped his family rebuild and did not ask for recognition.

Connor Stewart with his mum Kelli in the ruins of their home. Picture: ADAM WARD

“This is unexpected,” he said of his Pride of Australia nomination, and paid tribute to the kind support of family members and neighbours after the blaze.

The Pride of Australia awards program celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2014. Since its launch, 550 Australians have been honoured for their inspiring and selfless contributions to the community from more than 19,000 nominations.

The Pride of Australia awards are a creation of News Corp Australia’s newspapers, including the Hornsby Advocate.

We are asking readers to nominate people in their community.

Medals will be awarded in the following 10 categories: Outstanding Bravery, Courage, Heroism, Community Spirit, Child of Courage, Young Leader, Care and Compassion, Inspiration, Environment, and Fair Go.

As the program’s broadcast partner, Network Ten will again broadcast the National Medal Ceremony. Also coming on board this year is radio partner NOVA Entertainment, to extend the reach of the program even further.

Nominate someone today at: prideofaustralia.com.au