A Maryland couple is lucky to be alive after their dog’s barking awoke them from a life-threatening situation.
At some point before 4:00 a.m. on Monday, a Frederick County house on the 4000 block of Reels Mill Road had caught on fire, according to Frederick County Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Rusty Hahn via ABC 7. However, the couple who lived inside the home was not waking up.
Fortunately, Bear, the family’s Cairn terrier dog, noticed the fire and started barking, waking up the wife.
She noticed a glow near the doorway, prompting her to get out of bed to look outside the window, Today reported.
She then noticed that the back deck was ablaze with the flames quickly making their way to the rooftop.
Wasting no time, the wife woke her husband, gathered their two dogs, and rushed out of the house before it was completely destroyed by the flames.
Neither the couple nor the pets were injured.
After about 50 to 60 firefighters responded to the scene, it took an hour for firefighters to get the blaze under control, ABC 7 noted.
The smoke detectors did not sound off while the couple was sleeping since the smoke had not entered the house yet, and only started making noise until after they had escaped.
“If it were not for Bear, who alerted the occupants to the fire, the outcome could have been much different due to the fast-moving fire,” a fire spokeswoman told Today.
This is not the first time a hero dog has helped save a family’s life from a house fire this year.
As Breitbart News reported in February, a Texas family was awoken to their newly adopted dog scratching the end of their bed, which ended up alerting the family that their house was on fire. Everyone in the house was able to escape safely, all thanks to their new four-legged friend.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.