PICTURED: Brave young mum who pulled her two children from her car seconds before it exploded in 'the ultimate wake-up call that life is short' Catherine Mayes is lucky to be alive after her Mazda CX-5 exploded into flames Mayes pulled two children from car and said incident was 'ultimate wake-up call' Seconds after she took the boys away from the car, it exploded into flames By Zoe Zaczek and Lauren Ferri For Daily Mail Australia Published: 09:45 BST, 7 April 2019 | Updated: 09:45 BST, 7 April 2019 Viewcomments A brave mum who pulled her two children from a car seconds before it exploded has labelled the scare as the 'ultimate wake-up call'. Catherine Mayes, from Canberra, escaped serious injury when she used quick thinking and evacuated her four-year-old Mazda CX-5 as it filled with smoke on Saturday. The close-call was caught on camera and showed the vehicle explode and became engulfed by flames moments after the family fled. In an emotional Facebook post on Saturday evening, Ms Mayes processed her near-death experience. A brave mum who pulled her two children from the car seconds before it exploded has labelled the scare as the 'ultimate wake-up call' The close-call was caught on camera and showed the vehicle explode and became engulfed by flames moments after the family escaped 'I had a guardian angel looking after me and my boys today that's for sure,' she wrote. 'This was the ultimate wake up call that life is short and can be over in a matter of minutes, that lives are so much more important than possessions.' Ms Hayes was having problems with her car battery so she decided to buy a back-up battery pack to keep in her car and jump start the engine when need be. However, when the young mother pulled up to a park at Gordon Adventure Playground in Gordon, Canberra, with her four-year-old and five-month-old, the battery pack 'popped open and made a fizz sound'. 'I quickly got Tommy out and as I was getting him out it exploded and let out a crazy amount of smoke and started to catch fire so I raced to get Hunter out,' Ms Hayes wrote on Facebook. Catherine Mayes (pictured), from Canberra, is lucky to be alive after her four-year-old Mazda CX-5 filled with smoke before exploding into fire 'This was the ultimate wake up call that life is short and can be over in a matter of minutes, that lives are so much more important than possessions,' Ms Mayes wrote on Facebook Seconds after she grabbed both her boys and ran away from the smoke, the car exploded into flames and was caught on nearby CCTV. The young mother's panic was caught on voicemail to her partner John Stasik, where Ms Hayes can be heard saying 'We gotta get away bubba' to her panicked children. 'I was just like autopilot, like I need to get my babies out,' Ms Hayes told https://twitter.com/9NewsSyd/status/1114430692157317122. Mr Stasik received the worrying voicemail as he was driving home and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the cloud of smoke. Catherine Mayes is lucky to be alive after her Mazda CX-5 exploded into flames (pictured with partner John Stasik) Seconds after she grabbed both her boys and ran away from the smoke, the car exploded into flames and was caught on nearby CCTV (pictured) The battery pack is made by the brand Boxo and has a warning about not being left in the sun for too long. But technology expert Trevor Long said it's concerning that such a high powered battery can have such a dangerous outcome when it fails. Although Ms Hayes says the 'what ifs are overwhelming', she knows both she and her family are extremely lucky. 'I am so lucky that it happened while I wasn't driving, and that I went into auto mode and got my boys out of the car and away from danger,' she wrote. Although Ms Hayes says the 'what ifs are overwhelming', she knows both she and her family are extremely lucky The battery pack is made by the brand Boxo and has a warning about not being left in the sun for too long Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility