house fire Archives - Page 3 of 4

Mystery Hero Saves Dog from Tennessee House Fire [Video]

UPDATE: The hero is no longer a mystery! It was dog lover Tim Tawater, a 20-year veteran of the Nashville Fire Department, who rescued Sampson, a young, 82-pound Bouvier.

“I’ve had dogs ever since I was born,” Tawater told WSMV this afternoon. “You got to figure that if there’s a dog in the house, the dog is definitely family.”

The homeowners, Brandon and April Gorley, got a call about the fire as they were starting a vacation in Gulf Shores. They immediately returned home. A relative who had been housesitting was out running an errand when the fire broke out.

The Gorleys met Tawater this afternoon. “He didn’t have to go into a house that was on fire,” Brandon told WSMV. “Deeply, deeply appreciate him being there.”

A man driving his gray Mustang down a White House, Tenn., street late Saturday afternoon stopped when he saw people gathered outside a house on fire.

Did he wait with them for help to arrive? Nope.

When he found out there were pets inside, the unidentified hero ran into the burning house and emerged a couple minutes later, carrying a large black dog. About 30 seconds later, the roof of the house collapsed.

Jimmy Nichols, a keyboardist for singers like Reba McIntyre and Faith Hill, captured the rescue on video.

“[He] says, ‘I do this for a living,’” Nichols told WSMV. “The dog was scared to death, but he saved this dog. It was incredible to see.”

The mystery man in the gray Mustang drove off without leaving his name.

“It was so weird — he just took off,” Nichols said.

The dog’s owners were out of town, so he was taken to a friend’s house. Unfortunately, the house was destroyed by the fire, which started in the attic. Three cats are still missing.

Nichols and others in the neighborhood — especially the homeowners, I assume — are hoping the hero comes forward so they can thank him.

“He’s got the love and respect of this whole community,” Nichols told WSMV.

Guide Dog Calls 911 and Saves Blind Woman from House Fire

When Yolanda, a guide dog who lives in Philadelphia with a blind woman in her 60s, smelled smoke coming from the basement early yesterday morning, she called 911 on a specially equipped phone.

She then woke up her dog mom and led her out of the house, saving her life — for the second time. Last year, Yolanda called 911 when her dog mom fell and lost consciousness.

The woman was taken to a local hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. Yolanda is also being treated for smoke inhalation by Penn Vet, according to a tweet this afternoon from the Red Paw Emergency Relief Team, a Philadelphia nonprofit that provides relief for displaced pets & their pet parents.

The two may have lost their home, but they still have their lives — and each other.

“Yolanda is a superhero!” the Red Paw Emergency Relief Team wrote on its Facebook page yesterday. I couldn’t agree more.

Photo via Facebook

Two Dachshunds Found Alive Day After Pennsylvania House Fire

When their house in East Fallowfield Township, Pa., went up in flames late Saturday afternoon, a family thought they had not only lost their home, but two precious four-legged family members as well.

According to WPVI, investigators believe the two-alarm fire was started by someone smoking. Two women in the house were able to escape without injury, but their two Dachshunds were left behind. It took firefighters about half an hour to put out the flames.

As the family mourned their losses Sunday morning, someone spotted the Dachshunds sitting in what remained of a second-floor bedroom.

Modena Fire Company Chief Frank Dowlin happened to be finishing a report on the fire when he got a call from the East Fallowfield Police Department.

“They’re alive,” Dowlin was told, according to a news release he wrote today.

Firefighters and the relieved family rushed to the house. Once they got there, “it was truly a great sight,” Dowlin wrote.

“Standing at the rear of the house, looking through the large hole, there they were — tails a-wagging, looking down at their owners.”

Firefighter Charlie Johnson climbed a ladder and, attached to a rope, entered the unstable structure, walking across the bedroom to the dogs. One at a time, he scooped up the dogs brought them to firefighter Justin Carlo, who carried each of them down the ladder.

“The dogs were amazingly both doing well and, after a reunion with their owners, were cleaned up a little, and given water and food by neighbors, and then spent some time running around the yard,” Dowlin wrote.

“The event was truly a miracle to witness. Our crews were glad to bring a little happiness to the family.”

Photos via Twitter; Twitter

Rescued Dachshund Saves Kentucky Family from House Fire

During a severe thunderstorm early Tuesday morning, lightning apparently struck a house in Frankfort, Ky., sparking a fast-moving fire.

James Meadows, his wife and two grandchildren were fast asleep at the time. But thanks to Lacy, their 6-year-old rescued Dachshund, the family lived to tell the story.

“Lacy barked and woke me up,” Meadows told LEX 18. “I walked out of the bedroom, and I see the couch and behind the couch was glowing.”

Meadows was able to get his two-legged family members and two of their three dogs out of the house before it was engulfed by flames. Tragically, the third dog did not survive.

“We rescued Lacy, so she rescued us back,” Meadows told LEX 18 as he scratched the Dachshund’s ears. “She’s a hero in my book.”

A GoFundMe.com account has been created to help the Meadows recover from the loss of their house. To make a donation, click here.

Photo via LEX 18

R.I.P. Boogie: LAFD Search Dog Dies in Fire at Handler’s House

AUG. 9, 2015 UPDATE: A luncheon will be held Aug. 20 at a Sherman Oaks fire station to raise funds for the purchase of a new search-and-rescue dog for Jason Chapman. Search-and-rescue puppies-in-training Toast and Zuko will be attending “to give lots of furry puppy love,” according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. For more information, visit the Los Angeles FD Facebook page.

While he was out on duty Tuesday night, a fire broke out at the two-story Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., home of Jason Chapman, a firefighter/paramedic with the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Matthew Hawker happened to be passing by the house when he saw smoke and heard Chapman’s wife, Joy, screaming. The 17-year-old stopped to help.

Joy, who had already jumped off a second-floor balcony, told Hawker her 5-year-old son, Brayden, was still inside the house.

Putting a ladder on top of a barbecue, Hawker was able to climb up to the balcony. He went inside and, through thick smoke, found the little boy as well as two dogs, and carried them out to safety.

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” Hawker told the San Bernardino Sun. “When I ran into the house, I wasn’t thinking about the danger. I just thought about getting that boy out.”

But one family member remained inside the burning house. Boogie, a 9-year-old, FEMA-certified search-and-rescue dog who worked for the LAFD with Jason, was in her kennel on the first floor.

Because of the intense heat and flames, firefighters had difficulty entering the house when they first arrived.

“Once inside, firefighters aggressively fought the fire and had it knocked down quickly, while crews simultaneously attempted to locate and rescue a dog that was trapped inside,” according to a City of Rancho Cucamonga news release.

Unfortunately, Boogie did not survive the fire. Firefighters respectfully covered the black Lab’s body with a U.S. flag and saluted her as she was removed from the house.

“Any loss in the Los Angeles Fire Department family weighs heavy on the hearts of all members,” the LAFD stated in a news release.

Boogie, whose full name was Sundown’s Boot Scootin’ Boogie, was as lively as her name implied, the LAFD said. She and Chapman had worked together for more than seven years. In 2008, they were dispatched to Texas, where they helped rescue people after Hurricane Gustav. In Los Angeles, among the many cases Boogie worked on were an apartment building collapse and a kidnapping.

“As one of the most experienced K9s on the team, she also served as a ‘trainer,’” the LAFD said. “New handlers worked with Boogie to develop critical skills before obtaining their own K9. Boogie was always ready for any chance to get out on the rubble pile.”

While Jason is mourning the loss of his beloved partner, he knows it could have been much worse if not for teenage hero Hawker.

“We do it for a living. We’re trained to do it as firemen, so it’s expected of us,” Jason told KABC.

“It’s not expected of a 17-year-old.”

Photos via LAFD.org