InformationDog Saves Family from Blaze
June 13, 2006 - A family dog is being hailed a hero Tuesday night after alerting a Kensington couple to a fire inside their home.
The fire broke out inside the home on the 22-hundred block of Martha Street early Tuesday morning. The family's dog alerted the couple, allowing them to escape just in time.
Flames raced through the building at around 5:30am. The people who live there were asleep at the time but thanks to a four-legged hero, they woke up and made it out alive.
The dog appeared to be exhausted Tuesday. Being a hero is tough work.
Jennifer Hernane/West Kensington: "He started crying and barking and flames were bursting in the room and my Dad said, 'Baby we gotta jump or we're gonna die in here.' So they jumped from the second floor window down."
Jennifer Hernane wasspending the night at a nearby friend's house and rushed home when she heard her home was on fire and her parents might be trapped inside. By the time she arrived, the pit bull-boxer mix had already come to therescue.
Jennifer: "I seen my Dad laying on the grass, and I said what happened?"
He confirmed the family pet had saved their lives.
His name's Buster Brown and he'll turn two-years-old next month. He was wheezing hard Tuesday, but that's not what he normally sounds like.
The wheezing is due to smoke inhalation and so are his red eyes. While the head vet at the Pennsylvania SPCA says Buster Brown appears to be in pretty good shape otherwise, the rescue has taken its toll.
But his sacrifice is not going unnoticed.
Jennifer: "He's everything to me and he's an angel. I knew when we first picked him on the street - he was there for a reason."
Once Jennifer's parents escaped the flames they realized they couldn't find their watchdog turned guardian angel. Turns out, Buster Brown needed a little rescuing of his own. Fortunately, a firefighter found him and brought him to the SPCA.
The Fire Marshall's office says the cause of the fire was smoking.
Now Jennifer's parents are in critical but stable condition at Temple Hospital. Jennifer's mom has a broken elbow as well as cuts and bruises - and says she isn't quite up to TV cameras yet. Meantime, the vet says he's pretty sure antibiotics will take care of Buster Brown's wheezing.
(Copyright 2006 by Action News. All Rights Reserved.)